


Love Is All You Need

by sarahdani20



Series: Dream Come True [2]
Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: Adoption, Domestic Waverly Earp/Nicole Haught, F/F, Family, Family Fluff, Flashbacks, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Foster Care, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Pregnancy, Teen Angst, Teenagers, True Love, whipped Nicole haught
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-05
Updated: 2019-08-17
Packaged: 2019-08-18 18:27:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 34
Words: 148,760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16522358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sarahdani20/pseuds/sarahdani20
Summary: Waverly and Nicole become new parents. They both tackle the challenges with a newborn and three foster kids. They juggle their relationships, parenthood, family crises, and cope with life's ups and downs. But they also make time to slow down and enjoy life, making sure that their love for each other and their family staged stronger than ever.





	1. Love Is All You Need

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! Thanks so much for all your nice comments, they really motivate to keep writing. But if you haven't read the first part to this I suggest you do. But I really hope you enjoy Part 2 of this series! xx

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Waverly and Nicole become new parents. They both tackle the challenges with a newborn and three foster kids. They juggle their relationships, parenthood, family crises, and cope with life's ups and downs. But they also make time to slow down and enjoy life, making sure that their love stayed stronger than ever.

Waverly woke up to a deep scream coming from the basinet right next to their bed. She heard Nicole groan, but decided she should let her sleep since it was her first day back at work tomorrow. "I got it sweetie, you sleep," she said as Nicole buried her head back into the pillow.

Waverly walked over to the bassinet that was next on her side of the bed. She looked at the clock and it red 3:32 in the morning. She picked up their daughter and sat at the foot of the bed.

"Shh, I got you sweetie. Are you hungry?" Waverly said going to take out her breast. But it only caused her to scream even louder. "Ok, not the mood for the nipple," she said frustratedly. She stood up and positioned her into a shoulder hold. She slowly paced around the room, trying to get her to stop crying. 

"Ok, you're not going to go back to sleep for me are you?" Waverly said sighing. She got up and went to the nursery, she thought maybe rocking in the rocking chair would help calm her down.

She rocked back and forth, changing her from position to position. She was trying anything to get her to stop crying. Waverly was exhausted and their newborn never slept through the night. She grabbed the pacifier, hoping maybe that would soothe her. But she spit it out the moment it hit her mouth. 

"Please, sweetie, _p_ _lease,_ go to sleep. We all need sleep," Waverly said, her voice was started to crack. She wasn't pregnant anymore but her emotions didn't change and were all over the place. And sleep exhaustion on top of it doesn't help. She continued to rock back and forth, which seemed to work because she stopped crying. But now the next challenge was to get her to go back to sleep.

Nicole on the other hand was exhausted, too. She took about a month and a half of paternity leave right after she was born to help Waverly get settled into being a new mom. She knew how emotional Waverly had been and _did not_ like the idea at all about going back to work. She didn't want to leave her Waverly alone, in fact she hated leaving her alone even if she ran to the store to get a few things. 

She rolled over to find that her wife wasn't back, she sat up and looked around the room but still didn't see them. She got up and went to the bathroom to wash her hands and went into the nursery where she found Waverly rocking back and forth with Hazel in her arms. 

"Baby," she whispered, moving the table closer and sitting next to her wife. She moved a piece of hair behind her ear, which revealed that she had been crying.  

"Oh, baby," she said tearing up. She leaned in and gave her wife a kiss on the temple and leaning her forehead against it, her hand resting gently on Waverly's neck. 

"I'm sorry, I tried to get her to go back to sleep quickly. But she just kept crying. I didn't wake you did I? I'm sorry, go back to bed, you need sleep. You have work in a few hours," Waverly said wiping tears from her eyes. Their daughter was laying in Waverly's arms, her eyes were wide open and she was moving her hands around. 

"Don't be sorry. And don't worry about me, I'm the one that worries about you two. And I don't want to think about going back to work and leaving you here without me," Nicole said, getting off the table and kneeling down in front of Waverly. She smiled at her. The way her hair fell over her shoulder, with the slight yellow tint from the rising sun in the background, she could've sworn she was looking at heaven herself. 

Waverly looked down at her wife and smirked. "What?" 

"You're beautiful," she said leaning in and giving her a kiss on the lips. 

"Stop," she said blushed. She could feel herself getting red.

"What? It's true, you're my hot, breastfeeding, baby mama," Nicole said taking a finally asleep Hazel. 

"Thank you, sweetie. For everything, I love you so much," Waverly said leaning in for a kiss, being careful not to wake Hazel. They walked out of the nursery and back to their room where Nicole gently put her down in her crib. 

"You have an hour before you have to get ready for work," Waverly said getting back into bed. 

"Mm," Nicole muttered as she was already fast asleep.

****

Nicole walked intro the station and the first thing that came out of Wynonna's mouth was, "Haught, you look like shit."

Nicole glared at Wynonna. "Wow, Hi Nicole! Welcome back! How's the baby, how are you doing?!" Nicole mocked. "Why thanks Wynonna, I'm doing great, babies doing great, thanks for asking!"

Wynonna rolled her eyes,"Yeah, yeah welcome back, how's the baby, blah, blah. But seriously why do you look like that?"

Nicole walked over the coffee pot and poured herself a large cup of coffee on top of the large one she bought on her way the the station. She walked back over to her desk and sat down.

"Hazel won't sleep through the night and wakes up screaming and crying. Waverly has been taking care of it lately but I get worry about her which means I stay up half the night," she said while taking another giant sip of coffee.

Wynonna shrugged her shoulders. "Wish I could help but I never dealt with that because of the whole 'ghost river triangle cursed baby' thing," she said throwing a case file on Nicole's desk. 

"But drink up because we have a shit ton of work to do."

****

Waverly picked up Hazel and put her in her car seat carrier on the counter. She just threw up on herself and Waverly. Waverly quickly wiped it off and changed into a new shirt and grabbed a new onesie for Hazel. She unbuttoned her duck themed onesie and set it aside on the counter and got her changed into a regular blue one. 

"Ok, there we go. No more throwing up, ok?" Waverly said picking her up and giving her a kiss on the head. She looked over at the clock and saw that it was 10:00 in the morning.

"Time for your nap," she said walked upstairs to the nursery. She sat in the rocking chair and cradled Hazel, she rubbed her back while rocking back and forth, hoping she would go down easy. 

" _There you go, close your eyes little angel,_ " Waverly thought as she slowly got up and gently put her in her crib.

She walked downstairs and grabbed the basket of unfolded laundry from the laundry room and sat down on the couch. Hoping to get some housework done before Hazel woke up. Their house was a mess- clothes everywhere piles of dirty laundry, diapers- dirty and new, dirty dishes, and boxes of baby stuff still out in the garage waiting to be thrown away. Long story short, it looked like a tornado had hit their house. 

She turned on the TV and made some herbal tea and started on with her now daily routine of doing house chores and taking care of the baby. Not necessarily in the order and definitely not equally divided. She sat down and he set the baby monitor on the coffee table and watched the first few minutes of the latest 'Grey's Anatomy' before starting the laundry.

"Ok, please, stay asleep for at least 2 hours," Waverly said giving a slight smile while folding her wife's favorite red and green plaid shirt. She loved that shirt almost as much as she loved taking it off her. Although, they've been too tired to have sex, she missed her wife's beautiful body and missed the intimacy that they shared. But honestly, that didn't matter. She was just happy that she had her best friend by her side through all of it.

She finally got through the first load of laundry, but there were unfortunately two more loads to get done. She finished the last of her tea and got up to put it in the sink and go start the second load of laundry when she heard the baby monitor go off. She sighed, she only got through one episode of 'Grey's Anatomy.' She was hoping that she would sleep for a little longer. She went upstairs to go get her crying daughter. 

"Alright, sweetie," she said picking up a very red and teary- eyed Hazel. "I love you, but you're going to be the death of me," she said sitting in the rocking chair and nursing her for the 4th time of the day. She smiled down at her newborn while she ran her finger down her cheek. She had her eyes closed while she was feeding. Waverly looked around the nursery, looking at her crib, to her little drawer for all her clothes, diapers, changing table- everything. Sometimes it was just too good to be true, she had a house, a lovely wife, and a baby. Despite her being exhausted at her wits end, life was just too good.

She looked back down at Hazel and realized that she had finished, so she put her breast back and went downstairs to hopefully finish the laundry.  

"Ok," she said putting her an automatic rocker in the living room. "You're not going to cry and I'm going to finish cleaning the house," she said giving her a quick kiss on the nose and walking over to start the second load of laundry.  

****

"Wake up," Wynonna said right in Nicole's face, she dozed off doing finishing the last of the paperwork on the case they just wrapped up.

"What?" Nicole said looking around confused. "Oh, crap. Sorry," she said looking down at the last three pages of paperwork left.

"Hazel's really taking a toll on you, then?" Doc said taking a seat on _the_ couch. 

"Yes," Nicole said rubbing her sleepy eyes. "A big toll, I'm exhausted. I love her with everything that I've got, but I'm exhausted," she said sighing and shutting her eyes. 

Wynonna looked at Nicole and then back down at the paperwork and back up at Nicole. She decided that she would be a nice person today and finish the paperwork. 

"Alright, go home," Wynonna said rolling her eyes in defeat. "I'll finish the paperwork for you," she said with a small smile. 

Doc and Nicole both looked shocked. 

"Really?" they both said simultaneously.

"Yes, really. Why is that a shock that I'm being a nice person?" she said shooing Nicole out of her desk chair. 

"Well.." Doc said.

"Eh.." Nicole said. She couldn't help but smile though.

"And I mean it's 3:30, the day is almost over anyway," Wynonna said.

"We weren't planning on being completely done until almost 8," Nicole said.

"It's fine, really," Wynonna said.

"Thank you, Wynonna," Nicole said reaching down to give her a hug. She didn't think Wynonna would return the favor but she did. 

"I'm sure I'll make it up to you someway," Nicole said grabbing her coat. 

"No, free of charge," Wynonna said flipping through the paperwork seeing what she had to finish. 

"Wow, Wynonna. What a sweetheart," Doc said giving her a kiss on the head.

Wynonna smiled,"Ok leave before I change my mind." 

Nicole thanked her one last time before she headed out the door to be home with her lovely wife and baby.

***

"I'm home," Nicole said hanging up her coat. She looked around the kitchen and the living room but couldn't find anything. She walked around to the other side where their offices and laundry room was, but she couldn't find her.

"Hm, Her 2:00 nap should be done by now," Nicole mumbled by looking at her watch. She walked upstairs to the nursery to find Waverly in the rocking asleep, with Hazel in her arms with her breast half out. She couldn't help but laugh. She walked over to her exhausted wife and her little Hazel. 

"Baby," she whispered, running her hand through her hair and giving her a kiss on the head. 

"What?" Waverly said, almost inaudible. 

"Here," Nicole said gently taking Hazel and placing her in her crib. 

Waverly looked down to see her breast half out, she chuckled slightly and put it back under her shirt. 

Nicole came back over to Waverly and knelt down, looking up at her. She placed her hand on Waverly's thigh. "How was today, baby?"

"A lot and I have such a bad headache," Waverly said rubbing her temples. "She wouldn't sleep longer than an hour during her naps today. And she seemed hungrier than normal, it seemed like she wanted to feed almost every hour. My boob hurts," she said rubbing her aching breast. "I'm so tired, I could sleep for a full day at this point. I hated not having you here. One for the extra help but mainly just because I plain missed you. Today really showed me how much life would suck if you weren't here. And it was just one day," Waverly said rubbing her tired teary eyes. She looked down at her wife and smiled,"What are you doing home so early?" 

"Wynonna let me go home early. And I missed you, too. I missed you both so much. I'm sorry I wasn't here, I wish I was here. Baby, I hate seeing you like this. I'm so sorry, maybe I can work from home," she said wiping another tear from Waverly's eye. 

"No don't, don't let my crazy hormones get to you. Our job is hands on and working from home would be pretty hard," she said drying her tears with her sweatshirt. "Don't be sorry, I'm just glad I'm not alone. There's no way in hell words could justify just how big my heart is for you." 

Nicole smiled big and her stomach fluttered, she felt like a teenager again. "I love you too, sweetie. Saying yes was the best decision I've ever made. Now c'mere," she said picking her wife up from the rocking chair bridal style. "Let's get you to bed." She gave her a kiss and rested her cheek atop of her head while she walked her to the bedroom. Waverly grabbed a fistful of her shirt and breathed her in. Just like vanilla dipped donuts. 

She gently set down her wife on the bed. Waverly got under the covers and Nicole tucked her in. She smiled as she buried her head into the covers. 

Nicole went and got a Dixie cup with water and Advil for her headache.

"Here," she said sitting down next to Waverly and handing her the pill and the cup. "For your headache."

"Thank you, sweetie," she said, finishing the last of her water and laying back down.

Nicole gave her another kiss and went to their closet and changed into something more comfy- sweats and a crew neck.

"Scoot over," Nicole said climbing in bed with her wife. Waverly instantly cuddle up to her, she rested her head and hand on her chest while her other was wrapped around her waist. Nicole was kissed her head and was running her fingers through hair. 

"Get some sleep, Waves," Nicole said. 

"What if Hazel wakes up? You need sleep, too. I'll be fine, you have work tomorrow," Waverly said turning her head slightly and looking up at Nicole. 

"No, you won't. I'll be fine. And I have a feeling that Hazel will sleep at least longer than an hour. I think she senses when you're stressed which in turn causes her to sleep only like 30 minutes. So no, this is not up for discussion and you are going to get some sleep," Nicole said looking down at her wife.

"And what if I don't?" she said smirking.

"No more back rubs and no more sex," Nicole said. She was trying to be serious but she couldn't help but laugh. She leaned down and kissed Waverly tenderly on the lips. Nicole felt her smile into the kiss, so Nicole deepened it and brought her hand up to her wife's face. But she broke it so that Waverly could rest. 

"Sleep," Nicole said. Waverly did as she was told and put her head back down on her chest. Nicole rubbed her back, trying to get her to relax and get more than 2 hours of continuous sleep. Waverly felt herself falling asleep and before she knew it she was out. This was the most relaxed they've felt in a while. 


	2. Relax

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a simple, relaxing Saturday morning. 
> 
> -I also skipped about a month ahead. So Hazel is now about 2 and half months old. I'm probably going to skip a month about every chapter for the next few. So I hope you guys don't mind.

It was 5:30 in the morning when Hazel started crying. Waverly sighed and was about to get up and get her, when she felt Nicole's hand brush her arm. "You sleep, Waves. I got it," she said getting out of bed and going over to the crib next to their bed. 

"Oof, you're getting big," Nicole said as she picked up their growing daughter. It had only been a month and she grew so much.

"Are you hungry?" Nicole said grabbing the bottle that Waverly had pumped the night before. She gently put it to Hazel's mouth, seeing if she was hungry. She latched on right away and immediately stopped crying. "There we go," she said, sitting at the foot of the bed. She looked back at her wife and smiled. She was almost burying her face in the blankets. 

She looked back down at Hazel, shocked at how fast she had downed the bottle. "Wow, you really were hungry," she said putting the bottle back down and grabbing a burping cloth and throwing it over her shoulder. She stood up and started to gently pat her back, hoping she would burp so she could go back to sleep. She pretty soon heard a little burp, so sat back down at the foot of the bed and cradled her. She swayed back and forth, hoping it would help her little one fall back asleep. It took a few minutes but Hazel finally fell asleep, so Nicole gently set her down in her crib.

She climbed back in bed and rolled over and gently placed her arm around Waverly and placed some soft kisses on her jawline and neck. Waverly smiled and took Nicole's hand in hers, she gave Nicole's hand a quick kiss before snuggling deeper into her wife. Nicole buried her head into Waverly's neck before drifting off to sleep. 

****

Nicole woke up to the smell of eggs, bacon, and toast. She sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes and looked around the room for Waverly. She didn't find her and got up and looked in the crib for Hazel and she wasn't there either. So she threw on her green and red plaid long sleeve and went downstairs. 

She found Waverly at the stove with a mug in her hand and Hazel with the biggest smile in her face in her automatic rocker. She smiled as she walked over to her wife and baby. 

"Hi," Nicole said in a baby voice. "Hello, pumpkin," she said picking up Hazel and giving her a kiss. Hazel had the biggest smile on her face and reached out and placed her wet and cold hand on Nicole's nose. 

"Oh, your hands all wet," Nicole said wiping her face. "Morning, baby," she said placing her hand on Waverly's back and gave her a kiss on the cheek.  

"Morning," she said setting setting down her mug and turning around to face her wife. "I thought I'd make a nice breakfast, one that's more than just toast or cereal," she said while giving Hazel a kiss on the cheek and going over to get some plates. 

"Well, thank you. This is definitely a step up from cereal," Nicole said while holding Hazel in one hand and pouring herself a cup of coffee in the other. She noticed that her wife's mug was filled with coffee and not tea, which was odd since she almost never drank coffee. 

"Why are you drinking coffee?" she said taking a sip from her own mug. 

"I've started drinking it lately, trying to give myself some energy. It's actually not that bad," she said plating the eggs and bacon.

"Welcome to the dark side," Nicole said holding up her coffee mug. "Once you start you probably won't be able stop." She took another sip of her coffee and all of a sudden felt a Hazel poop her diaper.

"Oh, Hazel just took a crap," she said setting down her coffee and walking over the diaper bag near the door. "Whoo, and boy does it smell," Nicole said making a face.

"I'll be back," she said going upstairs with Hazel and the diaper bag.

Waverly smiled to herself and sat down with some avocado toast and fruit. She started to eat when she heard a knock at the door. She was a little surprised because she didn't remember inviting anyone over. She opened the door to find Wynonna, Doc, Alice, and of course Rose. 

"Oh, hi guys, what's up?" Waverly said covering herself more with her hoodie. 

"We just came to hang out," Alice said walking right in.

"What the kid said," Wynonna said brushing past Waverly and into their home. 

"Uh, alright," Waverly said stepping aside to let Doc in. 

"You'll have to excuse their manners," Doc said taking off his hat. "If you're busy we can come back at a better time. To be honest they both just really wanted to see the baby."

"Oh don't worry about it," Waverly said closing the door. "Um, what about Rose, you know, with the new baby?"

"I'll hold her the whole time, keep her on the leash, she should be fine, I mean her and Hazel are practically the same size," Doc said picking up the little puppy.

"Um, ok. Do you guys want anything to eat? I just made breakfast," Waverly said gesturing towards the eggs, bacon, and toast laying out on the counter. 

"Can I have some chocolate milk please?" Alice said getting up and making her way toward the kitchen.

"You got it," Waverly said opening the fridge. 

"How's Hazel?" Wynonna said pouring herself a cup of coffee. "Doc?" she asked holding up the coffee pot. Doc shook his head and sat down on the couch. 

"She's well, she's been sleeping a lot better. And she's so big. She's grown so much in a month," Waverly said handing Alice her chocolate milk.

"They do grow fast," Wynonna said while walking over to the couch to join Doc and Alice. 

"Well, what do we have here?" Nicole said coming downstairs with a better smelling and cleaner Hazel.

"Hi Auntie Nicole!" Alice said running up to her.

"Hi sweetie, what are you guys doing here?" Nicole said walking over towards her breakfast. "Wait, Rose?"

"Don't worry, I'm keeping her on the leash," Doc said. 

"I wanted to see the baby, can I hold her?" Alice said holding out her arms. 

"Sure," Nicole said. "Let's sit on the couch."

Nicole and Alice sat the couch and Nicole gently placed Hazel in her arms, she wasn't sure how this was going to turn out, especially since Hazel had been moving around a lot more. 

"Place your elbow and hold her head up, there you go," Nicole said guiding her niece. 

"Her eyes blue," Alice said. 

"They sure are, a very bright blue." Nicole smiled at her niece and daughter. All of sudden Hazel started to squirm, which caused Alice to jump.

"No, take her back, she doesn't like me," Alice said.

"She likes you sweetie, don't worry. She's kinda like Rose in a way. Just squirmy and still needs to get an understanding of things around her, don't worry," Wynonna said. 

"Well, she actually has to spend a few minutes doing tummy time," Nicole said setting down Hazel on her stomach on a little blanket with some toys. 

"What is that?" Alice said squatting next to Hazel. 

"Well, she has to work on her strength, she has to be able to keep her head up herself. Stuff like that doesn't come naturally," Nicole said walking over to her breakfast. 

Alice stared at her baby cousin fascinated with the fact that she really had to work at keeping her head up. Nicole smiled while she watched her shocked niece watch her daughter try to keep her head up. Rose came trotting up and tried to get in on the action with Hazel, because she laid right next to her and rolled over on her back and got tangled up in her leash. Everyone laughed, even nervous Nicole and Waverly. Hazel started giggling uncontrollably and reached out to pet Rose, she grazed her fur and Rose returned the favor but licking her tiny hand. 

"Guess she likes dogs then," Waverly said setting down the red kitchen towel. She sat down next to her wife who was finishing up her breakfast. Nicole smiled as she took the last bite of her toast and turned around to wrap her arms around her wife. Waverly placed her hands on top of Nicole's while Nicole gently placed her head on her shoulder, they watched as everyone was laughing over Hazel and Rose. 

"What are you thinking?" Nicole said lifting her head up and moving a piece of hair behind Waverly's ear. 

"I was kinda hoping to spend the day with just you and Haze, but," Waverly sighed as she looked at her family, well only part of her family. They were missing Robin, Jeremy, and Chrissy. 

"I guess it's fine."

Waverly gently kissed her ear, "I can tell them that you're not feeling well." She smiled and rubbed her tired wife's back.  

"No, it's fine. I guess some family time is long overdue. I'll let you know though," she said smiling. She leaned in and gave her wife a kiss before getting up to start the dishes. 

"Where's Robin and Jeremy? I'd figure that they'd be over, too," Nicole asked going to pick up Hazel. 

"They actually went on their first vacation together," Doc said. 

"Oh, first vacations, eh? We all know how that goes," Nicole said looking at Waverly.

Wynonna made a face and recoiled in disgust," Ew, sister in the room." 

"Chrissy? I'm surprised that she isn't here either. Especially since her best friend had a baby."

"She's in Europe, she actually called a few days ago while you were at work. I just forgot to tell you," Waverly said while scrubbing a dirty plate. 

"I wish," Nicole said while sitting down on the couch with Hazel laying onto of her. "You must be tired, huh?" she said looking down at her daughter and giving her a kiss on the head. "You're past your mid morning nap," she said looking at her watch which read 10:42. Hazel smiled at her mom, she had no idea what was going on. But smiled anyway. 

"Why don't we go put you down for your nap huh?" Nicole said giving her a kiss and heading upstairs. 

Wynonna grabbed the remote and turned on the TV. She instantly turned to the news. She lived and breathed the news. She had constant reminders on her phone set to go off the second a big new story came out. There was a small part of her that became a little paranoid due to the fake news that was also being told. 

"You guys all set?" Waverly asked drying her hands and looking over at her family. 

They all shook their heads and Alice was playing with Rose. Waverly nodded and made her way upstairs to get ready.  

She quietly walked into their bedroom and made their way into the bathroom. She opened the door to find her wife in the shower.

"Hazel go down easy?" Waverly asked grabbing her hair brush. This is normally a typical Saturday morning. Waking up late, having breakfast, getting ready for the day and just spending the relaxing day together.  

"She did, she was really tired," Nicole said from the shower. "Wave, you sure you don't want me to make up an excuse for you? I know you want to relax today and not entertain," she said snapping the shampoo bottle shut.

Waverly smiled at her wife's overprotectiveness. "I'm fine, I promise, we have all day tomorrow. We can smush some time in there somewhere tomorrow." Waverly grabbed her toothbrush and toothpaste. She looked up and surprised herself with the scowl that was on her face. She quickly wiped it away and forced a smile, trying to stay positive. 

"Alright," Nicole stuck her head out of the shower and gave a small smile, hair lathered in shampoo. "Let me know if you need me to make up an excuse."

Waverly laughed at the shampoo dripping down the side of her face. Her wife was pretty damn cute. "I will," she said walking over to Nicole. She cupped her face and gave her a long kiss on the lips, followed me another quick peck. 

"Thank, you sweetie," Waverly said finally grabbing her toothbrush to brush her teeth. Waverly thought how she desperately needed a date night, just one night alone, no baby, just herself and her wife- naked. But she wasn't sure if she would be able to leave Hazel alone. She hasn't left her alone once since she was born. So was that even a good idea? It was like Nicole was reading her mind because she soon asked, "How about a date night?"

Waverly hesitated while Nicole rinsed the last of the conditioner out of her hair. She liked the thought but didn't want to leave Hazel alone. "Um, I love the idea. But I don't know how I feel about leaving Hazel alone. I'm just not sure if I'm comfortable with it," Waverly's voice faltered. She hated saying no but she also didn't like the idea of saying yes. 

"It's ok baby," Nicole said as she stepped out of the shower. She grabbed the towel wrapped it around herself. "I get it. She is our first after a few losses and she's only a couple months old. It's ok, Waverly. Really," Nicole said wrapping an arm around her waist. She gave her a small kiss on the cheek before throwing on a bra and leggings. 

"Thank you for understanding," Waverly said as she also changed into leggings. It was silent for while Waverly changed and Nicole brushed her teeth.

"I guess we should get back down there huh?" Nicole said, gesturing for the door.

Waverly sighed a little bit,"I guess so." Waverly slowly got up and made her way to towards the door and headed downstairs. 

****

It was about mid-afternoon now, Alice was asleep in the guest bed room and everyone was sitting around the coffee table talking and laughing. Although Waverly was enjoying herself and being with her family, she had to admit that she was ready for them to leave. Nicole sensed that she was getting agitated and antsy, so she moved closer and wrapped her arm around her waist. Waverly instantly felt less anxious and felt more comfortable. Waverly looked over her shoulder to find Hazel asleep in her automatic rocker. 

Nicole leaned in and whispered, "How are you doing?" 

"Tired," Waverly said with her smile fading. 

Nicole gave her a kiss on the head and rubbed her back. "Wow, it's almost 4 o'clock," Nicole said looking at her watch. "Sorry to keep you guys all day."

Waverly couldn't help but smile. Nicole's attempt at trying to subtly get rid of them wasn't very subtle. Doc picked up on it but Wynonna didn't angry 

"No you didn't, Haught. We got all day," Wynonna said grabbing the whiskey bottle. 

"You're right, it's getting late," Doc said, glaring at Wynonna. Wynonna was confused and responded but shrugging her shoulders and raising her eyebrows. 

"We gotta get home, Wynonna. We have our meeting tomorrow," Doc said taking the whiskey away from Wynonna.

Wynonna rolled her eyes,"I forgot about our financial meeting." Wynonna got up and finished the last of the whiskey in her glass. She went into the spare bedroom and picked up a sleep Alice, who continued to nap on her moms shoulder. 

"See you later," Wynonna said walking out the door. Doc followed and tipped his hat before walking out with Rose and the rest of them. 

Nicole closed the door and turned back at Waverly, who had her head in her hands and rubbed her temples. Nicole walked over and sat down next to her and pulled her close. Waverly fell into her arms and started to tear up. 

"That was not a good idea. I shouldn't have let them stay that long," Waverly said, her voice quivering. 

"It's ok, baby. Let it out, I know you're tired. We'll spend the whole day in our PJ's. We don't have to do anything tomorrow," she said rubbing her arm and kissing her head. 

Hazel started to cry so Nicole gave one last kiss before getting up and getting her. 

"Here you go mama," Nicole said giving Hazel a kiss on the head before handing her off to Waverly. "I'll make dinner."

Waverly chuckled,"You don't cook."

"I will for you my love," Nicole said making her way towards the kitchen. She washed her hands and grabbed a head of lettuce to make a salad. She was cutting up the tomatoes when she looked up at her wife playing with Hazel, making her smile and coo. She smiled big and her stomach got butterflies. She loved the life she was living. 


	3. Date Night... Sorta

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nicole plans something special for Waverly, but a surprise visitor throws them both for a loop.

"Afternoon Waves," Nicole said as she threw her uniform shirt on. 

"Afternoon?" Waverly said sitting up and rubbing her eyes." She rolled over and looked at the clock, which red 3:40. "Wow, did I really sleep that late? I thought my nap would be an hour not almost 3," she said looking up at her wife. "Do you have to work today?" She was curious as to why she was getting ready for work. She thought today was her day off. 

"Yeah, I'm sorry Wave. Nedley left for vacation the moment he resigned and left a bunch of unsigned property taxes and bunch of unpaid bills. So I gotta get them done as soon as possible," Nicole said tucking her uniform into her pants. 

"That's ok, I wasn't planning on doing much the rest of the day anyway. Hope Hazel wasn't too much," Waverly asked sitting up in bed.

"Just put her down. She's getting a good nap in right now. I played with her a lot, trying to tire her out so the she would get some sleep. Considering she hasn't been getting much at night lately," Nicole said putting on her boots. "Hopefully she'll be good for the rest of today. I wish I didn't have to go in, I kinda hate how last minute this is."

"It's ok, Nicole. Maybe I should take this opportunity to catch up on sleep," Waverly said while yawning. "So maybe I'll do that," she said sinking back into their warm bed. 

Nicole smiled as she watched her wife curl back up into bed and drift back into sleep. She knotted her right shoe lace and got up. She walked towards Waverly and gave her a kiss before leaving. "I love you," she said as she watched her wife smile who was already half asleep. She gently shut the door, making sure she wouldn't wake Hazel, who was sound asleep in her nursery. She quietly made her way downstairs, trying not to clunk her boots on the hard wooden steps. She whipped out her phone and called Wynonna. 

"Ok, things are in motion. Waverly thinks I'm going to be gone for most of the day," she said grabbing her jacket and heading out the door. 

" _Good, I knew you wouldn't mess things up,"_ Wynonna said over the phone. Nicole rolled her eyes and started her car. 

"So you remember the plan right? You get her out of the house for the rest of the day so I can clean the place up and make it nice and special for our little 'date night'" she said whispering the 'date night' part. 

" _I got it, Haught. I'm not completely_ _irresponsible,"_ Wynonna said flushing the toilet.

"Are you taking a shit while on the phone?" Nicole asked in frustration. She felt like Wynonna wasn't listening and would ruin the night she had planned out.

" _Yeah, two birds- one stone,"_ Wynonna turned on the faucet to wash her hands and made even more commotion. 

"What do you plan on doing with her today? Because now I feel like you're going to ruin this day for us," Nicole said pulling into the Target parking lot. 

" _Um-_ " Wynonna said with a long pause. " _Alice wanted to go to the park today, so maybe that. And I have some errands to run. I don't know, we'll see._ "

Nicole rolled her eyes. She wanted to yell at Wynonna but didn't want to pick a fight. "I hope you have something good planned. Come get her right now because I need to go out and get a fancy table cloth and some groceries. I plan on cooking tonight." Nicole locked her car and walked in. She had to admit she felt a little guilty talking on the phone and driving a car, especially being the sheriff. 

" _Oh great,_ " Wynonna mumbled. " _This is going to be a disaster."_

"What? I may not be top chef but I know my way around the kitchen," she grabbed a shopping cart, still on the phone with Wynonna. 

" _Yeah ok, whatever you say. I'm on my way to Waverly now, Alice is with me. Don't worry. I'll keep her out of the house."_

"Ok, thank you Wynonna," Nicole said grabbing a head of broccoli. 

" _Don't mention it, Haught."_

****

"C'mon babygirl, we got stuff to do," Wynonna said shaking her sister awake. 

"What?" Waverly said in a groggy voice. She rolled over and sat up. "What are you doing here? Did we have plans or something? Ugh, I totally forgot, I was so tired," Waverly said rubbing her eyes. 

"No, we didn't have plans but you do now. Get up," Wynonna said. Alice came running in and jumped on Waverly's bed. 

"Hi, Auntie Waverly," Alice said sitting right next to her. 

"Hi, sweetie," Waverly said moving the hair out of her face. "Is Hazel awake?" she asked turning to Wynonna

"No, just checked on her. But get ready," Wynonna said. "We'll be downstairs getting something to eat," she took Alice by the hand and headed downstairs. "And hurry up! We don't have time to waste!" Wynonna called from downstairs. 

Waverly got up and headed for the bathroom, wondering what Wynonna had in store for her. "Hazel is not going to be happy that I'm waking her up from her nap. And neither am I..." Waverly mumbled while turning on the b bathroom light.

****  
"Ok, cashews, broccoli, pasta, garlic powder, yeast..." Nicole said looking at her list. "I think we have the rest at home. Ok, I'm all set," Nicole started pushing her cart and headed for the checkout aisles.

Nicole walked over to a free aisle and started to loaded her stuff to checkout. 

"Cashews and yeast, eh? I'm assuming either you're vegan or you're cooking for someone who's vegan," the cashier said. 

Nicole chuckled, "Yes, my wife. First date night since our daughter was born." 

"You must be excited, I sure was after me and my husband had our first date night after our twins were born," he said. "That'll be 132.54 dollars." 

"Yes, I am. She needed it, poor thing is overwhelmed," Nicole said swiping her card. 

"How old is she?" he said giving her her last grocery bag. 

"4 months," Nicole said putting her card back into her wallet. 

"Aw, that's the age where they start to laugh and be more vocal," he said handing her receipt. 

"Yeah, I've definitely noticed that. But thank you so much and I hope you have a great day," Nicole said pushing her cart towards the door. 

"You too, enjoy tonight!" he said. 

Nicole took out her phone and called Wynonna,"Ok, I'm done here and I'm heading home. Are you guys out of the house?" 

" _Almost, I'm waiting for her to come downstairs. I plan on going to the park and I have no idea where we're going to run errands but I'll figure that out. How long do you need?"_

Nicole thought for a second while she walked to her car,"Not sure, I have to clean the place and you obviously see how messy it is. And the cook time shouldn't take that long. Give me... 2 hours tops. I'll let you know when I'm done."

Nicole hung up the phone and hoped that she would all get this done in 2 hours.

****  
"So what do you plan on doing today?" Waverly said sitting on the bench with Hazel in her arms.

"Just the park and the bank," Wynonna said taking out of a flask.

"Wynonna, seriously?" Waverly said gesturing toward the tin can full of whiskey and the baby. 

"What? I need something to keep my going," she said taking a swig of it. She offered it to Waverly, who shook her head no. "And just thought we could spend some sisterly time together."

"Well normally when I think of sisterly time together, is either getting drunk, talking about our feelings over booze, or ending the day by finding out some big family secret," Waverly said giving Hazel a bottle.

"Thought we needed something new, didn't think you'd mind," Wynonna said putting her flask away. "And wow, I feel so loved by how much my sister wants to spend time with me," Wynonna said sarcastically. 

"It's not that, it's just that you normally don't need someone to help with mom stuff or simple errands. And Doc should be back tonight from his business trip," Waverly said trying to think of what was going on. 

"I thought some family bonding time was due," Wynonna said. 

"Ok, but the fact that you were came to get me out of bed the moment Nicole left for work, the timing is- kinda perfect?" Waverly said.

" _Crap, she know's something is up. Think of something dumbass,"_ Wynonna thought, trying to keep Nicole's surprise on the down- low. 

"I was planning on dragging you out whether or not Nicole was there."

"Ok," Waverly said suspiciously. She knew something was up, but she just couldn't place it. 

"Another 20 minutes and then we'll go to the bank," Wynonna said looking at her phone. She hoped that she could stretch two hours so that Nicole could get this all done.

****

Nicole was finishing the last of the laundry, she threw the last of the darks in the dryer. She then headed to the living room to vacuum it and neaten it up a bit. There were pillows, blankets, and crumbs all over the place. She put the pillows back where they belonged and folded the throw blanket in half and threw it over couch. Then she went to the closet and pulled out a vacuum. 

"Oh my God, this place is dirtier than I thought it was," she said vacuuming about a million crumbs from under the coffee table. She vacuumed the kitchen, the laundry room, the whole downstairs. Next she headed upstairs to vacuum upstairs, their bedroom and bathroom, and the nursery. 

"Ok, vacuuming is all done, now I just have to make the bed," Nicole said running downstairs to grab the sheets from the dryer. She grabbed them, headed back upstairs, and made the bed just as fast as a marine. She was worried that she would run out of time and the place wouldn't be nice and clean before Waverly got home. "Now for the kitchen," Nicole said going back downstairs.

She opened the dishwasher and emptied it, threw the left over dishes in the sink in there. She wiped down the dirty counter top and stove top from cooking vegan Mac and cheese. She looked at her watch and saw that it read 5:02. She had about an hour more or less to get the rest of this done. 

"Wow, I didn't think I'd get everything done so fast," Nicole said. He phone started to ring so she picked up and answered it. 

" _Haught, we're almost done here at the bank,"_ Wynonna said over the phone. 

"Ok, I got everything done. Dinner is on the stove top and everything is clean," Nicole said sitting down on the couch. 

" _I'm going to say about a half and hour here._ "

"Great, thank you Wynonna," she said hanging up. 

She looked down at her watch and realized she has time to go and pick up some flowers. 

"That shouldn't take too long," she said grabbing her coat and keys. She started her car and headed to the florist just two minutes away from their house. She headed in and looked at a variety of different flowers. She had no idea which were which except that there were roses. 

"Hi, I'm Hannah, can I help you with something?" the florist said. 

"Yes, I need something special for my wife tonight. But I don't know much about flowers." Nicole said. 

"Ah, I know what you need. Roses, lillies, tulips, and some camellias," she said heading toward the backroom. "Just give me a minute or two and I'll have the perfect bouquet for you." 

"Thank you," Nicole said whipping out her ringing phone. She looked down and saw that it was Wynonna. 

" _Haught, we're almost done here at the bank. I'm going to say 20 or 30 minutes tops,"_ Wynonna said. 

"Ok, I'm getting flowers and I'll be home. I think I'll have enough time to shower and change into something nice," Nicole said pulling out her wallet. 

" _You got the diaper bag and stuff ready? I got the car seat carried and everything. Doc should be back by the time I get home."_

"Yes, everything is ready to go." Nicole handed him her credit card and pulled the rather big bouquet of flowers closer to her. 

" _Ok, see you then Haught. Oh, and by the way,"_ Wynonna paused for a second. Leaving Nicole curious as to what she was going to say next. 

" _You're a great wife... and mother. You have no idea how happy I am that Waverly ended up with you and not Champ, or anyone else really,"_ Wynonna paused again and gave herself some processing time to realize what just came out of her mouth. " _Ok, enough of that. I'll text you when we leave the_ _bank."_

Nicole smiled at the very big compliment that Wynonna just gave her. "Will do, thank you Wynonna." 

She grabbed the flowers and walked out of the store, thanking the florist and walking back to her car. She just wanted this date night to be perfect. 

****

"God, I hate the bank," Wynonna said, getting up from her chair and pacing around the room for the fourth time. She had no patience. 

"Me too, mommy when are we going to be done," Alice said, who also inherited that trait. 

"Not sure, kid. Hopefully these people will pull their heads out-" Wynonna stopped herself from swearing. "Pull it together and hurry up." 

Waverly rolled her eyes and continued to gently rock Hazel in her carrier, letting her get as much sleep as possible considering she was interrupted from her nap. 

"Alice, waiting is a part of life. Sometimes you just gotta suck it up and get used to it," Waverly said, sitting patiently. 

"Can I help who's next?" someone called from behind their desk. 

"C'mon kid, that's us," Wynonna said. She quickly pulled out her phone and texted Nicole, telling her that they just got called so she should hurry up.

****

After her shower, Nicole changed into a semi-formal dress, but then realized that it might make Waverly feel bad since she was so underdressed. So she changed into some jeans and a loose collard, button up dark navy and white polka dotted shirt. She slightly tucked it into the from of her shirt, she pulled it out slightly so it would sorta fluff at the front. And she  _made_ sure that she was wearing her best set of lingerie.

"Wow, I look really gay" she mumbled to herself. 

She threw on some simple beige low tip shoes and went into the bathroom to finally slightly curl her hair. She grabbed the curling iron and started to curl her short red hair but was interrupted when she got a text from Wynonna.

She looked at her phone and saw that it read ' _We just left the bank. Should be_ _home in 10 minutes."_ She put her phone back down on the sink and finished curling her hair. She spritzed her favorite vanilla perfume and looked at herself in the mirror for what seemed like the hundredth time. 

"Ok, I look good. Hopefully this night should go as planned," she said heading back downstairs. 

She grabbed the Mac and cheese and threw it in the oven, setting it on high, hoping that it would warm up as soon as possible. She grabbed the flowers and sat the counter, waiting to see Wynonna pull in the driveway so she could be super cliche and stand there with flowers in hand like the movies. And it seemed like she was waiting forever. But she finally saw Wynonna pull into the driveway. 

"I'll be in in a sec, I'm going to call Doc, I'll bring Hazel in when I go in," Wynonna said pulling out her phone. 

"Ok," Waverly said stepping out of the car and heading towards the door. 

"Don't forget your stuff for Haught!" Wynonna said, handing her a burger and milkshake.

"Oh, thanks," Waverly said walking back. She had decided to get Nicole a little something since she had to last minute go into work.

Nicole was standing there, anxious as could be. Her heart was racing, it was like when she took Waverly out on her first real date. She could feel her hands get clammy and breath get shaky. It was like slow motion when Waverly opened that door, but her heart was beating so fast she swore it was the only thing she could hear. 

"This has been a weird day," she mumbled as she shut the door. She looked up and her eyes got wide, her jaw dropped, and she smiled. 

"What?" Waverly said setting down the brown bag on the counter She was looking at a very clean house and she was very confused. 

"I thought you needed a night to relax, baby free," Nicole said smiling, walking over to her and handing her the flowers. Waverly took them and took a big breath in. 

"They smell beautiful," Waverly said looking back up at her wife. "Nicole, this is- it's just-," Waverly said stuttering, she was at a loss for words. 

"Amazing?" Nicole said wrapping her arms around her wife and pulling her close. 

"Yes, I can't believe you did this," Waverly said setting the flowers down and wrapping her hands around her wife's neck. She leaned in for a tender kiss, that lasted longer than she thought it would. 

"Hey," Wynonna said closing the door behind her. "Sooo... I'll take Hazel for the night. Try not to worry, she's in good hands," she said leaning up against the door. 

Waverly smiled and walked up to hug her sister. "Thank you, Wynonna." 

"You got it babygirl. Call if you need anything, but don't call unless you desperately need anything," Wynonna said smiling. 

Nicole walked up and also gave Wynonna a hug, surprising both Waverly and Wynonna. "Thank you for helping me with this. I couldn't have done it without you." 

"Oh, we're hugging now," Wynonna said hugging back "And you can't do a lot of things without me," she said smirking.  

Nicole rolled her eyes and smiled. "Bye, Wynonna." she said while she held the door open for her sister in law. 

"Bye guys, enjoy yourself," Wynonna said, she gently placed her hand on her sisters arm before she walked out.

Nicole closed the door and turned back to face her wife.

"So I guess the work thing was a set up," Waverly said smiling. 

"Yep," Nicole said walking closer. 

"And helping Wynonna for the day, also a set up."

"Correct again," Nicole said wrapping her arms around Waverly's waist. 

Waverly rested her hands on her wife's arms. "This is incredibly thoughtful and sweet Nicole. I can't believe you did this."

"Well believe it, I knew you needed a break, but your annoyingly, adorable stubborn part of you didn't want to admit that," she said bringing their foreheads together. 

"You were right, you know me too well," she said blushing at the adorable part. She let go of her wife and walked over to the dining room. Which was candlelit and set with very fancy silverware, plates that they almost never used, and a very expensive bottle of wine. 

"Wow, you went all out," Waverly said. Nicole came up behind her and pulled the chair out, Waverly sat down and Nicole gently pushed the chair in. "Is that vegan Mac and cheese I smell?"

"Yes it is. I thought you could use a break mommy diet for the night," Nicole said holding the chair out for Waverly. 

Waverly laughed,"Yes, I was getting tired of greens and veggies." 

Nicole walked to the kitchen to grab the pan of Mac and cheese. It was the perfect temperature. Not to hot, not to cold, nice and gooey. 

"Nicole, you didn't have to do this. I'm fine, really. I know cashews aren't really your thing," she said grabbing her spoon for the heaping amount of food Nicole was serving her.

"Are you kidding? I love cashews!" Nicole said, trying to get a rise out of her wife.

Waverly chuckled,"Honestly I would've been fine in sweats and pizza." 

"Well, I wouldn't have been fine with sweats and pizza," she said opening the bottle of wine and pouring them both a good amount of alcohol into their wine glasses. 

"I wanted to treat you tonight. I wanted to make you feel special tonight," Nicole said. 

Waverly blushed and took a bite of her food and was shocked by how delicious it was, considering that Nicole wasn't much of a cook. "This is delicious," she said between bites. 

"I'm glad you like it, I wasn't sure how it was going to turn out, since, well- I didn't really know what I was doing," Nicole said picking up her spoon.

"It's so good," Waverly said taking another bite.

Nicole smiled and looked down at her plate of food. She wasn't a huge fan of cashews, but told herself she was going to force herself to eat it anyway. She took a bite and swallowed it, trying not to show her disgust for cashews. She was trying to be subtle about it, but wasn't doing a very good job because Waverly started to laugh. 

"You don't have to eat it, baby. I know you don't like cashews," Waverly said setting down her fork.

"No, I love it," Nicole said taking a bite. She tried not to make a face, but ended up recoiling in a disgust, which made Waverly laugh. "See? Delicious," she said with a forced smile. 

Waverly laughed even harder and got up to give her the burger she got. 

"Here, I got you this. I wanted to surprise you since you had 'work' today," she said setting down the brown bag in front of her. "And this," Waverly said setting down her chocolate. She leaned down and cupped her wife's face in her hands and gave her a soft kiss on the lips. 

Nicole smiled as she opened the bag. "Thank you, baby. I guess we both got surprises today." Nicole unwrapped her burger and took a bite. Much better than cashews.

They both sat there and ate, occasionally sharing a few laughs, glances, and smiles. They tried to take every moment in, especially since they almost never got time to themselves nowadays.

"I'm stuffed," Waverly said taking a sip of her wine. "That was delicious baby, thank you again for all of this."

"Anything for you love," Nicole said crumpling up her burger wrapper and throwing it in the bag. "Wow, a glass of wine, a burger, and a milkshake. How classy," she said. 

"I'll clean up," Waverly said taking her last sip of wine. But Nicole stopped her before she got up. 

"No you won't. Sit," she said pouring her another glass of wine. "This is your night." She grabbed the plates and pan and brought it back to the kitchen. She threw the dirty dishes in the sink and put the pan on the stove. She grabbed some tin foil and wrapped it around the pan of Mac and cheese and threw it in the fridge. She turned back to do the dishes but found Waverly's arm around her waist before she could even turn the water on. 

"The dishes can wait," she said leading a trail of kisses up her back. Nicole smiled and turned around to face her. She cupped her face and gave her a kiss before pulling her into a long hug. 

"I missed you," Waverly said into her chest. 

"I missed you too, Wave. I love our daughter, but damn, I missed you," she said. 

Waverly pulled her head from Nicoles chest and looked up at the tall redhead. "Thank you so much for this Nicole. I didn't know how much I needed this. This was the sweetest and best surprise I ever could've come home, too. I love you so much," Waverly said, her eyes getting teary. 

Nicole smiled at her and wiped the falling tear from her cheek. "I love you, too. I'm glad that you're enjoying it. Honestly I wasn't sure if Wynonna would be able to keep this secret." Nicole pulled her into another hug, she started to slowly untuck her shirt from her jeans. She slowly ran her hand up under Waverly's shirt and up to her bra. Waverly smiled and pulled her in for a kiss. She ran her fingers through Nicole's red hair and grabbed a fistful, pulling her even closer. Nicole was just about to undo her bra but they got interrupted by a knock at the door. 

"Ugh," Nicole groaned, she stood up straight and fixed her own shirt and hair. "If that's, Wynonna," she mumbled as she walked to the door. She angrily opened the door,"Wynonna, I swear if you interrupt us one more time-" she looked up at who was standing at the door. She was completely aghast at who was standing at the door. "Mom? Dad?" she said with her jaw dropping. What are you doing here?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, what a surprise eh? I thought I would throw in just a teeny bit of drama. Thought that this series was lacking a little. But I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I'm excited for the next one! 
> 
> Also like I said, it's about a month or so ahead so Hazel is now like 4 months.  
> So I realize now that I never included the push ring! I'm so sorry guys, so that will be awkwardly put in the next chapter. So sorry again so I hope you don't mind!


	4. Why Are You Here?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nicole parent's tell her something that's a shock to her.

Waverly quickly tucked her shirt back in and fixed her hair. She did not want her mother and father in law to meet her like this. 

"Mom, dad, what are you guys doing here?" Nicole said, still standing in the doorway. 

"Aren't you going to let us in?" Nicole's mother snapped. She pushed past Nicole into their home, Nicole's father following behind them. They both stood there, didn't acknowledge Waverly and looked around the homestead. She made a face, especially at the older, beaten couch that they had in their living room. 

"Told her not to become a cop," her mother mumbled.  

Waverly shyly walked up to them, "Hi, I'm Waverly Earp. You must be Nicole's parents," she extended her arm to shake their hand. Nicole's mother and father hesitated, but both gave a very weak handshake. 

"You must be the wife?" her father said with a sigh. 

"Yes," Waverly said putting her arm back down and keeping a respectable distance. 

"Aren't you going to introduce yourself?" Nicole said standing next to her wife. She could sense that she was anxious and nervous, so she slipped her arm around her back. Waverly instantly felt more relaxed. 

Her mother rolled her eyes and looked at Waverly, "I'm Kathy and this is Tom." She gestured towards her husband, who looked them both up and down. They were both dressed like white suburban parents. Kathy had on dark denim jeans, a pair of dark blue toms, and a pink sweater. Her hair was a dark brown in a typical mom bob. Tom had jeans, utility boots, a dark blue crew neck, and a baseball hat. He had slicked back salt and pepper tall. She was short, he was tall.

"Well, it's nice to meet you both," Waverly said giving her best smile. She could already feel the hostility and didn't want to upset them even more. 

They both groaned and set down their coats and purses on the kitchen table. Kathy looked over at the nicely lit dinner table and at the stove. 

"What was this, a lame attempt at a date night? You go out for date night, not stay in," she said turning back to Nicole. 

"Yeah, you would know all about that wouldn't you," Nicole mumbled. She let got of Waverly shoved her hands into her pockets. 

Tom started to glared at Nicole and snapped at her. "Hey, don't talk to your mother like that. You may legally be an adult but you're still a child," he said pointing a finger at her.

"Oh really? I'm still a child? Because last I remember you kicking me out after I told you I wanted to go to the police academy. According to you I'm 'mature enough to live on my own if I want to make this decision', " Nicole said stepping closer and challenging her father. "Or even maybe for being- gay?" 

"You're right, but look where you're living. That police job obviously isn't paying you enough. And I'm not a homophobe. I accept you, phases are normal and I see you're still going through yours," he said calmly. 

Nicole was fuming at that point and her and her father were just inches apart, both glaring at each other with death looks. you could see the steam coming out of her ears, "Accept and tolerate are two very different things. And I love Waverly, it's not a phase and I would _never,_   _ever_ leave her. Ever." Waverly smiled at that last part, she loved how much Nicole loved her. 

"Also just because I grew up in a giant house in a richy rich neighborhood doesn't mean I have a spoiled taste. I love our house and it's perfect for us. And I never inherited your taste for money, thank God." Nicole ran her hands threw her hair in frustration. 

"Are these baby toys?" Kathy said heading towards the toys in a bin. "And a blanket, diapers, a rocker?" she said looking up in shock. "Did you guys have a child?" 

"Yes, we did. She was born Christmas Eve," Nicole said angrily. 

"So you got married  _and_ had a child and never told us? What's wrong with you?" she said. 

"We haven't talked since I told you I wanted to be a cop, since I graduated high school," she walked over and grabbed the toy from her hand and threw it back in the bin. "You told me don't bother coming back, so I didn't." 

"Where is she? I want to meet my grandchild," Kathy said eagerly. 

"Don't get your hopes up Kath. We're obviously not welcome here," Tom said with disappointment in his voice. He walked over to her, pulling her back. 

"No you're not. And she's not here right now. We were actual in the middle of our  _lame_ date night," Nicole said.

Waverly had no idea what to do, she knew it wasn't her place to step in considering she had never met these people, but she also didn't want this to continue 

"Ok," Waverly said, stepping between the both them. "Why don't we all take a breath. Do you want anything to do eat or drink?" Waverly gave them a smile, trying to break the tension and gestured toward the kitchen. "We have some Mac and cheese left over, I hope no one is allergic to nuts," she said heading toward the kitchen. 

"Nuts? Nuts in Mac and cheese?" Tom said with a look of disgust. 

"Yes, she's vegan. And vegan Mac and cheese is mainly made of nuts," Nicole said. 

"Well, I don't like cashews," Tom said. 

Waverly saw Nicole's face softened a bit when he said that. Like father like daughter. 

"You married a vegan, Nicole?" Kathy said in a very condescending tone. Nicole's face quickly turned into a grimace. Waverly frowned and quickly became upset, she could feel her face getting red.

"Yes, my lovely, caring wife is a vegan. That's something that should matter," Nicole said walking back to Waverly and wrapping an around her, which calmed her down.

"Is there a reason you're here? I've asked like 3 times now, I would like an answer," Nicole snapped. 

Kathy and Tom's face changed, more into a sad look. "Yes, actually. We didn't mean to show up unexpectedly and we certainly didn't mean to cause any trouble."

Nicole was taken aback by her mothers apologetic tone, of course it wasn't an actual apology, but she would take it whatever she could get. 

"Really?" Nicole asked, stepping a little closer to her mother. 

"Yes, and we're sorry Waverly. We didn't mean to be so rude, we're just a little on edge," she said looking at Tom. 

Tom's look softened and he gave a slight smile. "We didn't want to stir up all this- regret and anger from the past. We no intentions of that all."

"That's ok," Waverly said. "I understand. My family has their fair share of problems too," Waverly said with a smile. 

Kathy gave a warm smile back and reached her hand out to her sister in law, which Waverly took and placed her hands in hers. "Our apologies dear. But, if it's ok with you both," she said looking at Nicole, who still had her hands in her pockets. She had a very frantic look on her face. "I'd like to meet my granddaughter," she said letting go of Waverly's hand and walking over to Nicole. "I'd like a chance for us to talk, not argue." 

"Nicole, we still love you, regardless of your life choices," he said, trying to make a joke. But that last part earned a back of the hand slap from Kathy. "What? Just trying to lighten the mood." 

"Not the right time, Tom," Kathy said in frustration. 

He held his hands up in defeat and also walked closer to Nicole. 

"Let's sit," she said gesturing toward the couch. 

Nicole nodded and let her parents go first. She looked down and found Waverly's hand in hers, Waverly gave her a smile and kiss on the temple. Nicole smiled and led her to the couch. 

"So what's up?" Nicole said, exhaling through her nose. Waverly rubbed her back. Nicole took her hand and rested them both on her leg. 

"Well, you know when you were in high school. Your grandfather wasn't doing so well," Kathy said with her voice quivering. 

"No," Nicole said putting her hand up to her mouth in shock. "No, he didn't." Nicole voice was shaky and she could feel her eyes watering. Waverly rubbed her back, trying to make her feel better about all of this. 

"Yes, he uh-" Kathy couldn't finish her sentence and a tear fell from her face.

"He passed away two weeks ago," Tom sad wrapping an arm around his wife, trying to comfort her. "And his wish was to be buried here in Purgatory so that he could be with your Aunt Hazel. And that's why we're here. We're here to one, resolve the things between us and two grant your grandfathers wish and bury him here. The whole family is going to be here and we wanted everyone to be comfortable. Well, mostly you to be comfortable."

"We didn't come to fight. We came to make up and get past what happened between us years ago. And we're sorry that things got started on the wrong foot. That's not what we intended at all," Kathy said pulling a tissue from her purse. 

"Nicole we love you and your family," Tom said smiling at Waverly. "We just want to make things right between us. It kills us when you're not here to celebrate a birthday or holiday." Tom readjusted his hat and placed his hand on Nicole's knee. 

"Uh, it's just- I know- it's just a lot," Nicole said quietly. She wiped a tear from her face. 

"I understand. If or when you're ready to talk let us know. We don't want to push you into something you're not ready for. And if you don't want to make up that's ok. The only thing I ask if that you come to the funeral," Kathy said.

Nicole nodded. She didn't know how to process all of this. Her head was spinning and she felt sick. 

"Do you have a place to stay?" Nicole asked. 

"Yes, we have a hotel, you don't need to worry about us," Tom said with a small smile. 

"I'll call you," Nicole said getting up and heading towards the door. "I think I still have your number," she mumbled. She knew that she didn't have their number but she felt sick and didn't want to see them anymore. 

Her parents were disappointed that she was so dismissive, but understood nodded their heads before walking out the door. 

The moment Nicole closed the door she started bawling. Her hand met her face and the tears were falling. She felt Waverly rub her back.

Waverly moved Nicole's hand form her face and cupped it in hers. She smiled and wiped a tear with her thumb. 

"I'm not going to ask if you're ok. I know you're not, but you know that I'm always here. I'm always here if you need to talk. If you ever need me, I'll be there," she said. She gave Nicole a hug and kissed her cheek. "I love you."

Nicole gave a slight smile while another tear fell from her face. She broke the hug and looked at Waverly with misty eyes."I love you, too. Thank you, Waverly. You're my rock," she said with a small laugh. "I'll be fine. But I think I'm going to grab a quick shower."

Waverly held her hand for a little longer, but Nicole headed toward the stairs and eventually let go over Waverly's hand. Waverly watched her wife go upstairs. She wanted to help, but didn't know what to do. All she knew was that she had to be there for Nicole. She sighed and walked over to the dinner table and blew out the candles. She headed upstairs to change into something more comfortable. 

****

Nicole opened the bathroom door and found Waverly watching 'The Ellen Show.' She smiled at herself, her wife couldn't get enough of celebrity news. Waverly's eyes met Nicoles and she smiled. 

"Baby, you hear about Pete Davidson and Ariana Grande?" Waverly asked, hoping to take her mind off of the day. 

"Yes, I think everyone heard about that," Nicole said throwing putting her brush back in the sink. Waverly opened her arms and Nicole took the invitation and sorta flopped herself onto Waverly. She situated herself between Waverly's legs and rested her head on her chest. She rested one arm on her side and the other was loosely wrapped around Waverly. Waverly started to run her fingers through Nicole's damp hair, she knew running her fingers through her hair would help her relax and feel better. 

"This is not how I wanted to end up on top of you," Nicole said with a small grin. 

Waverly laughed and bent her head down and gave her a kiss on the head. 

"I know baby," she said. She looked down at a sad Nicole who normally knew when Waverly looked at her and always looked back, but that didn't happen tonight. 

"How are you doing?" she said turning off the TV and looking down at her wife. 

Nicole didn't look up, she kept her head there and was looking toward the door. "I don't know, I'm all over the place. I was not expecting this. And my grandparents did not approve of me being gay. My whole family didn't really either. The only person that accepted me was my brother, Wes. But I haven't seen since I got kicked out." 

Waverly continued to run her fingers through her hair and occasionally rubbed her back. "What happened with your brother?" 

"He joined the army. Which is ironic because they had no problem with him joining the army but made a huge deal that I wanted to become a cop," she said sniffling. 

"I'm so sorry, baby. That's awful," Waverly said giving her a kiss on the head. 

"Thank you, Waves. It's ok, I've gotten used to my sexist and homophobic family," Nicole said. She lifted her head up so that she could look at Waverly.

"My grandfather and grandma both told me I was going to hell and that I was a disgrace to the family. We got into a huge fight right before I left for school. The last thing I said to them was 'I'd rather go to hell than be in a family with you guys," Nicole said. She looked away and her voice was cracking and the tears were falling fast at this point.

"I stormed out of the house, slammed the door and never spoke or saw them again," Nicole wiped her eyes with her hands and sniffled. Waverly's heart broke as a tear fell from Nicole's face. She gently moved hair from her eyes and moved it behind her ear. 

"When the rest of my family found out, that was even worse. No one would talk or see me." Nicole looked back at Waverly. "I'm sorry this night was ruined, I planned on doing things, naked things," she mumbled. 

Waverly laughed and gently cupped her wife's face and gave her a kiss on the lips. "I love you, you always have me. You know you have the rest of us, Jeremy, Wynonna- everyone." 

Nicole smiled while another tear fell from her face. "I love you so much, Waverly. You are my family, you, Hazel, and everyone. You guys are my family, they're just genetics," Nicole went in for a kiss, which Waverly returned. But Nicole deepened it and moved her position that was a bit more dominating. She tried to undo Waverly's shirt, but Waverly quickly stopped her. 

"Nicole, I love you so much, but you're hurting right now. We're not going to do this," Waverly said fixing her shirt. "And don't say that, they're your family too. You may not see that right now, but I promise you guys were get through this. I mean look at my family." Waverly smiled at her wife. "We have our fair share of nuts, too. You're not alone."

Nicole sighed but smiled at her and went to lay her head back down. "You're right, Waves. I'm sorry. I'm a mess," she said with a slight chuckle. "But I love you. I don't know what I'd do without you. 

"I love you too, baby," Waverly said. Nicole held herself up so that Waverly could lay down, but she continued to lay on top of her. Waverly kept gently running her fingers through her hair until they both asleep. Nicole had no idea what she was going to do, but it was comforting to know everyone was by her side through all of this.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, what a chapter, eh? I'm actually really excited for how this is going to turn out! Also I know that Nicole's parents aren't necessarily 'homophobic' but that doesn't mean the rest of her family has to be...


	5. Live in the Moment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nicole tries to figure out what to do about this whole situation without breaking down completely. Waverly does everything she can to try and distract her.
> 
> -There is so much fluff in this, like- so. much.

Waverly woke up and reached her hand out to Nicole's side, but it was empty. She sat up in bed and looked around their bedroom. Hazel wasn't in her crib and the bathroom door was open. 

" _Did she had work?"_ Waverly thought to herself. She get up out of bed and threw her robe on and headed downstairs. " _No she couldn't have, she wouldn't leave Hazel unattended alone downstairs."_

She reached the bottom of the stairs and saw Hazel in her rocker with a bottle. She smiled at her mommy and Waverly smiled back and waved. She saw Nicole staring out the window sipping her coffee. You knew something was up if she was staring out the window. And she was always keeping herself busy, it was unusual for her to be doing nothing. 

"Morning, baby," Waverly said grabbing a coffee mug. 

Nicole turned around and gave her wife a sad smile,"Morning." She took another sip of her coffee and looked down at the ground. She couldn't look her wife in the eye right now. 

Hazel finished her bottle and dropped it on the ground. Waverly went over and picked her up. She grabbed a burping cloth and gently placed her on her shoulder, patting her back to get her to burp. 

"Have you eaten anything?" Waverly asked, soon there was a burp from Hazel, so Waverly threw the cloth in a hamper and continued to hold her. 

Nicole shook her head, "No I haven't eaten yet and I'm not hungry." Nicole took the last sip of her coffee, she reached for the pot full of coffee but Waverly stopped her.

"No, you're not filling up coffee. You're eating something," she said swatting her hand away. She handed Hazel to Nicole and opened the fridge.

"What do you want to eat?" Waverly started to sift through everything in the fridge. "Eggs, toast, oatmeal?" she said turning back to her wife. 

"I'm not hungry," Nicole said taking a seat with Hazel in her lap. 

"You're eating," Waverly said taking out the eggs. "Eggs and toast it is then." Waverly sighed in frustration and shut the fridge door. 

"No, I'm not hungry. Why don't you stop and listen to me for once," Nicole snapped. 

Waverly was taken a back and you could see her eyes shift to more of a sad, mellow look. Nicole immediately felt bad. "Sorry, Waves." Nicole looked down at Hazel who was sucking her finger. 

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap. I'm just frustrated and I didn't mean to take it out on you," Nicole said somberly. "My parents called me like 3 times this morning. They keep leaving messages that they want to get together and talk. But I really don't want to, they want to resolve things so bad. But all I feel is resentment towards them." Nicole's voice quivered, she didn't want to cry again but she wasn't sure if she could keep it together. 

"I hate myself for it, I want to make up with them, but I can't. It doesn't feel right. Part of me doesn't want to make up. But the other part wants to make up and get past it." Nicole got up and gave Hazel her pacifier. 

Waverly placed down a bowl and got out the milk and cereal. She handed her a spoon and leaned over the kitchen counter, "I know how you feel, exactly how I felt with my mother. And I know it feels like shit. But you need to eat something. I know you're not hungry, but-" Waverly said putting her hands on her hips. "I don't really care, you're going to eat  _something_ whether you want to or not. At least have some cereal." 

Nicole laughed and grabbed the cheerios and poured herself a small bowl of cereal. "Thank's for making me feel better," Nicole said taking a bite of her cheerios. 

Waverly smiled and came over and rested her head on her shoulder while wrapping her arms around them. "Oh, I made you feel better?" she said. She gave a gentle kiss on the jawline and nuzzle her nose into the crook of her neck, breathing in that intoxicating vanilla dipped donuts smell. 

"No, not really," she said setting down her spoon. She took Waverly's hand and intertwined It in her own. "But it's very comforting to know that I'm not alone." 

Waverly smiled and kissed her hand,"Nope, never alone. I'm always by your side, babe." Waverly gave her one last kiss on her cheek and went to make herself some breakfast. 

"Do you plan on calling them back?" Waverly said pulling out some avocado and toast. 

"No idea," Nicole said readjusting Hazel, who was sliding in her lap. "I really just can't deal with them. I don't think I physically or mentally have it in me."  

Waverly stood there for a minute, making her breakfast, thinking of what to say. "Go at your own pace. Don't push anything, that's the last thing you'll want to do to yourself." 

Nicole's phone rang again, she picked it up hoping it wasn't her parents, but it was. She set it back down and sighed, she turn her ringer off and pushed the phone away from her. She picked up Hazel and gave her a bunch of kisses, trying to take her mind off it. Hazel started to smile and laugh, which made Nicole smile and Waverly smile. Waverly loved her little family, but despite Nicole's smile, Waverly could see the pain in her eyes. 

"What?" Nicole asked, wondering why her wife was looking at her weird. 

Waverly shook her head, "Nothing." She smiled, trying to reassure her wife. "Why don't we do whatever you want today, take your mind off it. What do you wanna do, stay at home, go out get some errands done, see a movie, which we haven't done since we started dating, have lunch?" Waverly asked taking a bite of her toast. 

"I kinda wanna go out, but I also don't wanna risk seeing my mom and dad," Nicole said. 

Waverly thought for a second, "What about that little hike we used to go on all the time before I was pregnant? Almost no one knows about it, its 62 degrees, and sunny. The perfect weather." 

Nicole smiled, "Yes, that sounds like a great idea, I think Hazel would love it," she said looking down at her little one who was moving her arms all over the place, trying to grab everything in sight. 

"Alright, sounds like a plan," Waverly said taking the last bite of her toast. "I'll be in the shower and Hazel is due for a nap. So, join me if you please," Waverly said giving her wife a kiss before heading upstairs. 

Nicole smirked and got up, she cradled Hazel, hoping that she would fall asleep fast so she could join Waverly up in the shower. Luckily for her Hazel did fall asleep fast, Nicole walked upstairs and put her in her crib. She set down the baby monitor and grabbed the other and headed for the bathroom. 

She opened the door to find a lot of steam, she quickly undressed so she could join her wife in the shower. 

Waverly didn't even notice Nicole come into the bathroom, so it surprised her when she felt hands on her hips. 

"Babe, you scared me," she said turning to face her Nicole. 

"Sorry," Nicole said smiling. Nicole kissed her wife and brought her closer, she had full intentions on finishing what she started last night. 

****

"Does Hazel have her little booties on?" Waverly asked putting her hiking boots on. 

"Putting them on now," Nicole said laying Hazel down the bed. She gently slipped on her boots, Hazel was too busy chewing on her pacifier to notice. 

"Diaper bag all set to go?" Nicole asked picking up Hazel. 

"Yep, extra clothes, diapers, and two bottles," Waverly said packing them into their backpack. They normally used the diaper bag but the backpack they also used pretty often.  

"Two bottles?" Nicole said asked, she didn't they would be out that long to need two bottles.  

"Yeah, just to be sure. I know we didn't want to be out super long but, just in case," Waverly said tossing on her jacket.

They were both dressed simple, yet fashionable. It was April, there was still a little bit of snow on the ground and it was still a bit chilly. Waverly was wearing lulu lemon leggings with a white and black stripe up the side, a long sleeve black shirt, and a dark grey, breathable jacket. Nicole was wearing just plain black leggings and a plain grey crew neck, but instead of boots she was wearing sneakers. 

"Ready to go?" Waverly asked. 

"All set," Nicole said. She looked down at Hazel who was looking around everywhere. "What about you, Haze? You all set?" she asked in a baby voice. Hazel started to laugh and started to flail her arms up and down. 

They both headed downstairs and to the car, hoping to get away from reality for a little while.

****

"We're here," Waverly said pulling into the dirt parking lot. Nicole fell asleep in the passenger seat, Hazel on the other hand was wide awake in her car seat. She was cooing and making noise like crazy, which woke Nicole up. She rubbed her eyes and yawned big. The place they liked to hike was a ways from town and it was about an 45 minutes from town. 

"Wow, didn't realize how tired I was," Nicole said unbuckling her seatbelt. 

"Well, you were kinda up all night. Tossing and turning," Waverly said stepping out of the car. 

"You noticed that, huh?" Nicole said taking Hazel out of her carseat. 

"Yes, I did," Waverly said. "Do you want to carry her or me?" 

"I got her, since our date night, kinda got interrupted," Nicole said. She handed Hazel to Waverly so she could set up the baby sling. 

"Baby, try not to think about it. Don't think about last night, just think about right now," Waverly said placing Hazel in the sling. She gave her daughter and wife a kiss before closing the car door and locking it. 

"Let's just hike." Waverly threw the backpack on her shoulder and started for the trail. It had been a long, long time since they both did that hike, so she was looking forward to this. 

They walked for a while, didn't say anything, just breathed in the fresh mountain air and took in the scenery. They passed trees upon trees and rocks upon rocks. They even passed a little stream that they don't remember being there. It wasn't as cold as they thought it would be, in fact they started to sweat a little bit. 

"How you doing, Waves?" Nicole asked stepping over a big tree root. 

"Good, definitely out of shape," she said wiping the beads of sweat from her forehead. 

"Yeah, definitely remember being this easier when we first started dating. But hey, we're almost at the top," Waverly said.

"Where are you going?" Nicole said, Waverly started to take a detour right. Nicole had no idea what she was doing. 

"You seriously don't remember?" Waverly said ducking under a tree branch. 

"No, what? Where are you going? What are you doing?" Nicole said ducking under the same tree branch. 

"This," Waverly said stepping aside to show this beautiful cliff view of this. All you could see was Canadian mountains and waters for miles. 

"Oh my God," Nicole said smiling. "How could I forget." She took a deep breath in and just took her view in. "Our spot." 

Hazel started moving her arms and legs all over the place. She was confused but saw her mommy smiling, so she smiled, too. 

"Haven't been here since we were dating," Nicole said.

"Come sit with me." Waverly said. She sat down and stretched out her legs. Nicole sat down next to her and gave her a big kiss on the cheek.

"This brings back so many memories," Nicole said nostalgically.

"Really, like what?" Waverly rested her head on Nicole's shoulder and played with Hazel's little feet.

"This is where I knew that I didn't want to spend my life with anyone else. Of course, I already knew I loved you, but- I saw myself owning a home with you and raising a family with you. And we've had a few setbacks, but look at us now," Nicole said looking down at their beautiful daughter who was sucking on her fingers. "You were laughing at the story I told you of my first and failed girl kiss. The sun was shining right on us, right on you. I took one look at you and just knew, you were the one." 

Waverly was smiling and blushing like crazy, "Really?" 

"Really, Waverly. You were the one I wanted to come home to. 'Home' went from going to a place from going to a person, to you. On my worst days all I wanted was you and for you to tell me everything was going to be ok, because I knew it would be as long as I had you. When you went away to finish school, it felt like half of me was missing. You're the last thing on my mind when I go to bed, and the first when I wake up. It quickly became impossible to see me without you. I didn't want a future without you in it. I can't see myself raising our family with anyone else. One smile from that pretty little face of yours made all my worries disappear. Every 'I love you' makes me feel like nothing in the world could ever go wrong. I don't think anything or any amount of words will show you just how much I love you." 

Waverly smiled and couldn't believe how sappy her wife was being, she normally wasn't like this. But Waverly wasn't complaining, she loved it.

"Nicole stop," she said gently hitting her arm. "You're making me blush."

"Sorry, sweetie," Nicole said shifting herself to look her in the eye. "You tend to ramble when you talk about something you love."

Waverly smiled and reached her hand up to her cheek and kissed her passionately on the lips. She gently stroked her cheek with the pad of her thumb. Their little moment was interrupted when Hazel randomly yelled, which both of her moms laughed at.  

"I love you, Nicole. And, ditto," Waverly said.

Nicole laughed and kissed her again,"I love you too, baby." 

Apparently Hazel wanted some attention too, because she ended up taking a big one in her diaper. 

"Whoa, Hazel took a dump," Waverly said taking her head off of Nicole's shoulder. "Oh my God, it smells so bad." 

Nicole chuckled,"Yes, it does." She took her out of her sling. Waverly her backpack off and took out a blanket and laid it on the rock and took out baby wipes and diapers. 

"I got it," Waverly took Hazel and started to change her diaper. Nicole on the other hand was staring at this beautiful view that no one knew about. 

"Well, that was downright explosive," Waverly said throwing the dirty diaper in a plastic bag. Waverly picked up Hazel and threw the unfolded, clean blanket back in the backpack. 

"C'mere, Waves," Nicole said holding out her arms. Waverly accepted the invitation and situated herself between Nicole's legs She leaned back into Nicole and cradled Hazel in her arms, who was actually started to fall asleep. Nicole leaned forward and rested her right arm on her bent right knee, and the other she rested on Waverly's thigh. 

"I needed this," Nicole whispered in her ear. She gently nibbled Waverly's ear and gave her a kiss on the side of her neck. 

Waverly got goosebumps and her stomach got butterflies, the things this women did to her. "I know you did, I'm glad we did this. I loved the trip down memory lane."  

Nicole kissed her jawline and nuzzled her nose into the crook of her neck, breathing her in. God she loved the way her wife smells, like sweet strawberries, she couldn't get enough of her. She rested her head on her shoulder and just enjoyed the view. She wasn't even thinking about the situation with her parents and family. She was just living in the moment, taking everything in with her perfect wife and perfect sleepy daughter. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this one. Sorry if the fluff was overkill, I was just really in the mood to write it. The next chapter is going to be a doozy, so prepare yourselves.


	6. Who Do You Think You Are?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nicole's parents show up unexpectedly (again), trying everything in their power to make up with their daughter. 
> 
> (Also please read the notes at the end! Much appreciated!)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to thank you all for your support and sweet comments. Like I keep saying they keep me motivated to write! Thank you guys so much I love you all! xo

Waverly turned off the car and went to get Hazel from her car seat. Hazel was fast asleep with her pacifier dangling from her mouth. She hated to wake up her sleepy daughter, but they both desperately wanted to get inside and take a shower.

"I'm so hungry," Nicole said taking out her keys. 

"Me too, I forgot how vigorous that hike could be, especially since I'm very out of shape," Waverly said holding a very tired Hazel over her shoulder. 

"I think a shower is mandatory," Nicole said unlocking the door. "I smell disgusting, I-" Nicole stopped mid sentence in shock, she couldn't believe what she was seeing. Her parents were sitting the couch, just waiting for Nicole to come home. 

"What are you doing here?" Nicole asked, throwing her keys into the bowl. 

"Nicole, we didn't break in. This isn't what it looks like, but you wouldn't return any of our calls and we got worried. We really want to talk, the rest of the family is going to be here in two days. We would really like to make up before they get here," Kathy said standing up. She was going to say more but the baby in Waverly's hand caught her eye. 

"Is that your daughter? Our grandchild?" Kathy said getting a huge smile other face. "Can I hold her?"

"Wow, we're grandparents," Tom said in awe. 

Nicole rolled her eyes and huffed,"No, you can't hold her. She's not your granddaughter. Please leave my home, you're not welcome here," Nicole said putting down the backpack. Waverly awkwardly walked by all of them, giving a weak smile. She went upstairs to put Hazel down, hoping that things wouldn't get too out of hand so Hazel could sleep.

Kathy sucked her teeth in frustration and Tom adjusted and readjusted his hat, something he did often in uncomfortable situations.

"How the hell did you get into my house, I know for sure that I locked it," Nicole said walking over to the door, checking to see if she actually locked it. 

"Some guy at the station. That's the first place we went when we couldn't find you," Kathy said, she ran her fingers through her hair in frustration, just like Nicole. 

"You went looking for me?!" Nicole asked angrily. "Can't you take a hint?! I didn't return your calls for a reason. But answer my question, how did you get a key?" 

"Some scientist guy, short brown hair, also short. Very nerdy, won't stop rambling," Tom described. 

Nicole rolled her eyes,"Jeremy, I'm going to kill him." She gritted her teeth at started to unpack the backpack that they had brought with them. 

"Nicole, please," Tom said pleadingly. 

Nicole stopped unpacking the backpack for a second, considering if she wanted to give them a chance and talk about. But she eventually decided not to, she was too angry. 

"Nicole!" Kathy yelled in frustration. "This isn't fair Stop being childish and act like an adult and talk to us!" 

Nicole lost it at that point, she turned around and faced her parents,"Stop acting like a child?! Are you kidding me? I've been living on my own since summer going into my freshman year at college. I'm not a child, I don't want to talk you. You're not welcome here, so please, get the hell off of my property," Nicole said dangerously. She had this look in her eye that just said she wanted to kill. She was furious at her parents, she just wanted them to leave and get out of her life.

"Hey, guys, let's just all take a breath. And keep our voices down," Waverly said, gesturing towards Hazel asleep upstairs. "Don't wanna wake the baby." Waverly tried to give an encouraging smile, that faded fast when no one acknowledged her attempt at trying to calm everyone down.

"Please leave," Nicole said through her teeth, ignoring Waverly. 

"Nicole, please. We just want to make up, we're not the bad guys here," Tom said. 

"Yes you are, you show up unexpectedly, then criticize my home, my wife, my family?!" Nicole started to yell. "I don't want you here, I don't want you in my life. You're not my family, she is," Nicole said pointing at her wife and daughter. "My wife and my daughter are my family. And my crazy sister-in-law and my niece, everyone who was there for me when you weren't." 

"You're an aunt?" Kathy said smiling. 

"Yes- no, that's not the point. I want you to leave, get out out of here," Nicole clenching her jaw.

"We don't want to leave, you're our daughter. You can't just kick us out of your life when we're trying to do the right thing," Tom said, he held out his hand, showing his sympathy. They both desperately wanted to make up with their daughter, but it's not what she wanted. 

"I have every Goddamn reason to kick you out of my life, after you kicked me out of yours. I appreciate you trying to do the right thing, but that's not going to make for the fact that you basically disowned me! You're not my parents, your genetics!" Nicole was screaming at this point. She almost never raised her voice. 

"Nicole," Waverly pleaded, trying to get everyone to stop yelling. 

"Stop it, Nicole! You don't know what you're saying!" Kathy said, her voice cracking. 

"Nicole, this is ridiculous, now you're seriously acting like a child. How dare you say something so hurtful, we obviously didn't do a good job of raising you!" Tom said yelling back. 

"Raising me?! You didn't fucking raise! I raised me, you were never home, you were always going out with your friends, getting drunk and gambling! You're fucking lucky that your luck didn't run out, I'm surprised you didn't gamble your life away!" Nicole was furious, she had never felt so angry in her life. 

"Stop with this language, I will not be talked to like that, especially with such profanity!" Kathy yelled. 

"Who do you think I learned it from?! You came home drunk almost every night and swore like a drunken sailor. I've heard it since I was 8 years old!" Nicole yelled back. She stood up walked closer to her parents, challenging them in way. 

There was a deep scream coming from Hazel's room. Nicole looked up towards the stairs and her heart broke, she saw Waverly rush up to get her. She hated that she had put her family in the middle of this and hated that her sweet angel woke up from her nap from all this screaming. 

"See? See what you do? I never wanted you here, I don't want you in my life. I never asked you to show up or resolve things. All you do is make things worse. I'm honestly glad that you kicked me out," Nicole said spitefully. She angrily stomped out of the room, making her way upstairs to attend to her crying daughter. 

She walked into Waverly cradling her, trying to get her to stop crying. She blamed herself for how this was all turning out, especially putting her family in the middle. 

"I'm so sorry, Waves," Nicole said walking over to her wife and daughter. She grabbed her pacifier and gave it to her and that thankfully stopped her from crying. 

"I'm sorry, Haze. We didn't mean to wake you from her nap," she said taking Hazel from Waverly's arms. She continued to rub her back and peppered her cheek with kisses. 

"Waverly, I'm so, so, sorry that things got so out of hand. I didn't mean to scream. This is has become a shit show," Nicole said, a tear falling from her face. 

Waverly gave a sympathetic smile and wiped the tear away and stood on her tippy toes to give her a kiss on the check. 

"It's ok, baby. I know, it's rough. Things tend to get out of hand and sometimes you can't help it," Waverly said wrapping her hand around her bicep and resting her head on her arm. "It sucks, but I understand." 

"Who are you?" Tom said from downstairs.  He had a very harsh tone in his voice, it was very distinct.  

Nicole and Waverly looked at each, concerned for whoever just walked in the door. They quickly made their way downstair to find Wynonna and Alice. 

Wynonna looked around to see everyone looking very upset and exasperated. 

"Haught?" Wynonna asked, walking towards Nicole. 

"Not the greatest time, Wynonna," Nicole said sighing. 

"Hi Auntie Nicole," Alice said with a smile. 

"Hi sweetie," Nicole said, she gave her best smile, but it was still a very sad one. 

"Nicole," Kathy said sympathetically, holding out her arms, hoping to hold her granddaughter. 

Nicole turned her back and gave her a dirty look. "No, you don't get to hold her, she's not your granddaughter," Nicole said coldly. 

Kathy's face fell and you could see her become upset. 

"Nicole, quit being so harsh. We just want to meet your granddaughter," Tom said walking closer. 

"She's not your granddaughter," Nicole said. 

"Alice, why don't we go upstairs? You can help me put Hazel back down," Waverly said smiling. She took her snotty, tear faced daughter and took Alice's hand and headed upstairs.  

"Um. What's going on, Haught" Wynonna said walking toward Nicole. 

"Who's this now?" Tom said gesturing toward Wynonna. 

"My sister-in-law," Nicole said running her hands through her hair. 

"Great, another person. You've come at a very bad time, miss" Kathy said giving Wynonna a look.

"Who the hell are you Mr. and Mrs. Jones'? You look like you came out of a fucking L.L. Bean catalog," Wynonna said snarkily, gesturing towards their failed attempt at a trendy Canadian mountain look. 

"We're Nicole's parents," Tom said looking back at Nicole. 

"Oh, _the_ parents," Wynonna said. She pulled out peacemaker and a cloth and began wiping her gun down.

"What the hell kinda gun is that?" Tom asked pointing at the long, metal gun in Wynonna's hand. 

Tom looked over at his daughter, "Aren't you going to do something?"

Nicole shrugged her shoulders, "I've been trying to get you out of my house and out of my life, but you never listen. You really think she's going to listen to me?"

"Are you trying to threaten us?" Tom asked. 

"I don't know," Wynonna said wiping down the barrel of the gun,"Is it working?"

Tom and Kathy both looked at each other, trying not to show the concerned look on their face.

"No," Tom said, his voice faltering. 

"I suggest you leave," Wynonna said giving a cynical smile. "Cause I don't think you're going to like where this ends up," she said gesturing towards peacemaker. 

"You have a lotta nerve there, little lady," Tom said, trying his best to be threatening. 

"Who do you think you are?" Kathy said, putting her hands on her hips. 

"Don't push it," Wynonna said coming closer. She had a grin on her face that read don't-fuck-with-me. 

Tom and Kathy both looked at each other and gave in. They walked back to their car and sped up out of the driveway and drove away, fast. 

Nicole put her head in her hands, exasperated. Her head was swimming, she was so mad that she didn't even know how to express it. Wynonna came over and put her hand on her shoulder. 

"You good, Haught?" Wynonna asked, trying to be as sympathetic as possible. 

"No," Nicole said, a tear falling from her face. 

"Why don't I take Hazel for a little bit, you work things out, baby free. I can take at least one thing off your mind," Wynonna said picking up Alice.

"No, that's ok," Nicole said standing back up. "I appreciate that, Wynonna. But I think I kinda want her here with me." 

"Alright," Wynonna said. "I'm here if you need me, Haught. You know that right?" 

Nicole gave a weak smile, "Yes, I do. Thank you, Wynonna." Nicole wiped her eyes and threw her hair up into a ponytail. "Was there something you needed? I wasn't really expecting you," Nicole said unpacking the rest of the things in the backpack. 

"Um, yes actually. But I can come back, it's fine, I don't want to put too much on you," Wynonna said putting coffee into the coffee maker and starting a pot. 

"No, what? If there was something you need I don't mind. Honestly I could use a little bit of distraction right now," Nicole throwing away the dirty diaper. 

"I was going to ask if you could pick Alice up from school tomorrow," Wynonna said taking out a mug. "Normally Doc or I do it, but not tomorrow, we have to meet with our lawyer, something about a will." Wynonna poured herself a cup of coffee and leaned against the counter. She rolled her eyes and sighed, she hated meetings, especially if people in suits were involved. 

"We'd love too," Waverly said from the stairwell. 

"Yeah! Pick me up tomorrow please?" Alice pleaded, holding Waverly's hand tight while jumping up and down. 

"You sure, Red?" Wynonna asked, being careful with Nicole considering the fight between her and her parents. 

"Yeah, it'll be fun," Nicole said giving a reassuring smile. "Here that Alice? We'll get a treat after school."

"Yay!" Alice said jumping up and down, her pig tails bouncing up and down with her body. 

"Thanks, Haught," Wynonna said taking a sip of coffee. She looked at Nicole, who was washing her hands after taking care of Hazel's dirty diaper. She felt kinda bad asking her to do this after the whole dispute between her parents, even though she said it was no trouble, she still felt guilty. 

"Wynonna, don't worry about it," Waverly said getting out some milk and chocolate syrup for Alice. "It's really no trouble, we love spending time with Alice." 

Waverly grabbed a small glass and poured some milk, then chocolate syrup. She grabbed a spoon and started stirring, the syrup at the bottom. Alice stood there animately, waiting for her chocolate milk. 

"Here sweetie, be careful with that," Waverly said, carefully handing her a full glass of chocolate milk. "And no going on the couch, it stays either in here or the dining room." 

Nicole smiled at her niece and her wife, she had no doubt in her mind that Waverly was going to be a great with Hazel when she became a toddler, a tween, and a teenager. She already knew that Waverly was going to be the disciplinarian, but herself was probably going to end up more of the easy type. 

"You got it Auntie Wave," Alice said with a toothy smile, well half toothy, one of her top teeth were missing. 

"So, what's the situation between you and your parents?" Wynonna asked bluntly. Waverly shot her a look, but Nicole wasn't surprised by the question from her very straightforward sister-in-law.

"Wynonna?!" Waverly asked in shock. She furred her brows and gave her sister a questioning look.

"Don't worry about, Wave," Nicole said, placing her hand gently on her back. "I guess I should talk about it then," she gestured for Waverly to take a seat, which she did. Nicole went on the other of the counter and so she could face her wife and sister-in-law.

"Well, you know that I didn't have much of a family growing up," Nicole said moving a piece of hair behind her ear. "And my parents weren't around."

Waverly's heart ached for her wife, all she wanted was to take away some of the pain she was feeling. She hated all the feelings surrounding her and her mother and she hated for anyone to go through it, especially her own wife.

"Well, my grandfather died recently and he wanted to be bury here, with my Aunt," Nicole paused again, she was finding it extremely difficult to talk about it. But Waverly's instincts kicked in and she held her hand out for Nicole, just like she did at Shorty's when Waverly's Uncle Curtis passed. Nicole took it and smiled, she knew that now she had the courage to continue. 

"Well, you know my Aunt died with the massacre. But that's where my grandfather wanted to be buried. And they wanted to honor that wish and bury them here. Honestly I have no idea how they even where I was, ugh, why didn't I ask them that?" Nicole said kicking herself for not asking such a basic but important question. 

"Sorry, Haught. That sucks. I wish I could offer some advice, but, yeah sorry I can't help there," Wynonna said shrugging her shoulders. 

Nicole smiled and appreciated her attempt at trying to make her feel better. It was was a great feeling know that she wasn't alone. 

"That's ok, Wynnona. I appreciate your valiant effort," Nicole said. She grabbed a large mug and poured herself a big cup of coffee. She normally didn't drink coffee after 3 pm, but today was definitely an exception. 

"Well, we gotta go, we have cookies to make," Wynonna said finishing the last of her coffee. "C'mon kid," she said taking Alice's hand. 

"See you tomorrow, Auntie's!" Alice said giving a smile and giving her empty chocolate milk glass back.

"See you tomorrow, sweetie," Waverly said giving her a kiss on the head.

Nicole smiled at her niece and waved goodbye, trying to keep it together. She hated crying, especially in front of those she loved. She was feeling all these emotions at once, she hated the feeling of being so angry you feel helpless, helpless with yourself. Being so angry you feel like you're losing control.  

"I'm going to the gym," Nicole said abruptly. She went to the closet and grabbed her gym bag.

"Wait, Nicole, we should talk about this, or not talk about this. Don't leave now, please, I don't think you should leave. It's not a good idea," Waverly said walking over to the doorway and blocking it so her wife wouldn't leave.

"No Waverly, I don't want to talk, I just want to workout, can you move please?" Nicole said crossing her arms.

"No, we just worked out, that almost 2 hour hike? You should be fine, don't go out Nicole," Waverly said, standing taller so she would seem more like a threat.

"See you in a few, Waverly," Nicole said sternly. She pushed past the small brunette and angrily slammed the door behind her. All she wanted to do was punch the shit out of a punching bag. 

Waverly sighed as she watched her love walk, well, stomp to the car. She hated it when her wife was short and cryptic with her. All she wanted was for her to talk to her, but Nicole didn't want to. She'd rather bottle it all up, she was more of the suffer in silence person. 

After blowing through two stop signs, Nicole decided to pull over and pull herself together. Angry driving was not smart driving and as much as she wished she wasn't here right now, she decided to be stop and take a second to think.

"Ok, stop. Just take a few deep breaths," Nicole mumbled to herself as she took a deep breath. She took a few more and started the car again. 

She pulled into the parking lot and shut off her car. She put her gear shift in park and noticed her wedding ring. She twiddled with the ring on her finger while she reminisced the happiest day of her life, the day she married her best friend. She smiled at herself and took it off and put it in the glove holder and grabbed her white silicone ring, something she wore often. She really only wore her diamond wedding band when she wasn't working and on special occasions. She didn't want to ruin it or lose it, especially at the gym. So there were silicone rings all over the place. Waverly didn't mind though, as long as people didn't try and flirt with her. 

She grabbed her gym bag and walked in, greeting the receptionist, Jen. 

"Hey, Nicole," she said looking up from her computer. "No, Waverly today?"

"No," Nicole said giving a sad smile. "It was a kinda spur of the moment decision to go to the gym, so just me today." Nicole grabbed the pen and signed in, she was glad to get some frustration out in the gym rather than her wife, but it just wasn't the same without Waverly. It's not like it was completely new to her, she had to work out alone when Waverly was pregnant, but this was worse. She left on a bad note and she hated that. 

"Well, I'm sure you can make do for just today," Jen said with an encouraging smile. 

"Thank you, have a good one," Nicole said with one last smile before walking off to the locker room. 

She grabbed her water bottle and walked out of the locker room, hoping to get her mind off of everything just for an hour or two. 

*****  
"Hazel, please take the bottle," Waverly said, trying to get her daughter to eat. "I know you want Nicole, but she isn't here right now." Hazel always ate when Nicole fed her, so Nicole was the main one to do it. It wasn't easy for Waverly but she usually managed to get her to eat too, but today Hazel was not just having it. 

Waverly got up from her seat and walked around, hoping that maybe some movement would get her to eat. But Hazel kept refusing the bottle, every time Waverly brought it to her mouth her pushed it away and cried even louder. Waverly tried to do everything she could to get her to eat, but it just wasn't happening. Thankfully Nicole walked in the door. 

"Hey, Waves," Nicole said taking off her gym bag. "I'm sorry I stormed out like that. Here," Nicole said holding out her arms. "Let me take her." Nicole took her daughter in her hands and grabbed the bottle. It took a few tries and some screaming but Nicole finally got her to eat. 

"So," Waverly said crossing her arms. "Is angrily storming out of the house going to become a new thing?" 

Nicole sighed and shook her head. "No, I'm sorry, Waves. That's not me, I didn't mean to do that. I just really wanted to punch something and I didn't want to take my frustration out on you." 

Hazel finished her bottle, so Nicole grabbed a burping cloth and put her over her shoulder, tapping her back slightly. 

"Do you want to talk about it?" Waverly asked cautiously, she stepped closer to her wife, trying to get a sense of where she was and if she wanted to open up. 

Nicole gave a small smile, "I appreciate it, but no. I don't want to talk about it." Nicole looked back down at her daughter, who was starting to close her eyes. She rocked her gently until she could get upstairs and put her down for a nap. 

"Ok, well, when you do," Waverly said heading toward the kitchen. She turned her back and started doing the dishes. She felt bad for not wanting to talk about it with Waverly, but she just wanted to forget about it.

Nicole looked down and headed upstairs to their daughter down. She smiled when she saw her daughter nuzzle closer to the mattress. 

"I really need to take a shower," Nicole mumbled to herself taking her sweaty hair down from a pony tail. She went into the bathroom and shut the door. She started the shower and started to undress, throwing her sweaty gross clothes into the hamper. 

This time she took extra long in the shower, thinking about, everything. Her mind was going a million miles a minute. She wanted nothing more for her life to go back to what it used to be, with just her wife and her baby. No parents, no family. 

Nicole was mid thought when she heard a knock on the door. 

"Sweetie, are you ok?" Waverly said opening the bathroom door. "You've been in here a long time, I'm starting to think you fell and hit your head or something." Waverly put down the toilet seat and sat down, hoping to get something out of her wife.

"I'm fine, just thinking," Nicole said putting some conditioner in her hair.

Waverly sat there for a minute, thinking how she wanted to word her next sentence. 

"You know I'm here right, you can always talk to me. And you know that I'd never judge you for anything you say to me," Waverly said.

Waverly was the last person to judge someone. She always made sure that if she did catch herself judging someone, she'd remind herself that she doesn't know the whole story or the whole person. She was hoping that she could pass that on to the baby. 

"I'm almost done here. I'll be out soon," Nicole said. It hurt Waverly's heart that her wife was being dismissive, she knew that she was hurting and all she wanted to do was help take that pain away. But Nicole wouldn't let her. 

Waverly got up and walked out of the bathroom. She grabbed her purse and checked on Hazel, who was still sleeping. "I'll be back. I won't be out long 15 minutes tops. I just have to go get something real quick," she said opening the bathroom door and setting down the baby monitor. 

"Yep," Nicole said very bluntly. 

Waverly sighed at again her wife's dismissiveness, but she walked out and walked downstairs. She was hoping maybe a bacon cheeseburger would help make her feel better. 

***

Nicole walked out of the bathroom and threw her diamond wedding band back on. She found Hazel, sucking on her pacifier and moving her arms and legs up and down. Something she was doing more often now that she was getting older, she moved around a lot more and was a lot more vocal. 

"Hi, there pumpkin," Nicole said with her baby voice. She got a bottle from the mini fridge in their room and picked her up and sat down on the bed. She cradled her and gently placed the bottle in her mouth. 

"Yeah, enjoy it now, sweetie. Pretty soon we're going to be feeding you baby food and not formula anymore." Nicole smiled at her daughter, who was just being the cutest thing today. 

Hazel was getting to an age where she should be starting on baby food, so they were going to have to start weening her off of formula. She was hoping that the transition wouldn't be too hard on her. 

She heard some footsteps coming upstairs and saw Waverly walk in. She looked up, but didn't smile or give any warm invitation to start a conversation. Which frustrated Waverly even more. 

"I got you a bacon cheeseburger," Waverly said holding up a big brown bag. 

"Oh, thank you," Nicole said, there was almost no emotion in her voice. 

Waverly sighed and set the bag down on the nightstand. She normally would've wanted the food downstairs at the table, but right now she didn't care. She was too frustrated and upset to care. Her main point of focus was her wife. 

"I'm going to take a shower," Waverly said dully. You could obviously tell that she was upset by the tone in her voice. She expected Nicole to say something, but she didn't. She didn't look up from Hazel. Waverly sighed and angrily stomped into the bathroom, slamming the door. 

Nicole felt her heart sink, she hated hurting Waverly. But it seemed like she couldn't stop, she kinda felt like her mother. Her mother never stopped hurting her and it broke Nicole and she hated that she was putting her in the same spot. 

She grabbed a burping cloth and burped Hazel. She propped up a pillow and bent her knees and place Hazel in her lap. Giving her tickles and playing with her little feet. She felt like she had been neglecting her daughter lately with everything going on, so she was glad that she could get to do this. 

She grabbed her burger, she found a large bacon cheeseburger, a large fry,  _and_ a large milkshake. She smiled, Waverly spoiled her too much. And that was the many things that Nicole loved about her, no matter how many times Nicole told her she didn't need special treatment. Waverly never listened it and did it anyway. 

Waverly came out of the shower and saw her wife eating, while making their daughter laugh. She couldn't help but smile. 

"Nicole can we talk?" Waverly asked sitting on the edge of the bed. 

"Yeah," Nicole put down her burger and picked Hazel up and cradled her, she gently placed the pacifier in her mouth. 

"I feel like you're pushing me away," Waverly said. She was dreading this talk and was hoping that it wouldn't go to bad. "I know you're going through stuff right now, and I get that it's tough. I understand, I really do. Especially with my crazy sister and mother. But I want to be there for you Nicole, but I feel like you're not letting me. I don't want to be pushed away, Nicole." 

Nicole's heart sank into her stomach at knowing that she had hurt the one she loved most Waverly's eyes were misty and she hadn't had that look on her face since she found out about her sister Willa. And Nicole hated to see her in so much pain. 

Nicole got up and placed Hazel in her crib, so that she could comfort her wife. 

"I'm so sorry, baby," she said sitting down next to her wife. She wrapped her arm around her and pulled her closer. 

"I didn't mean to push you away. I just don't know or like talking about my feelings. And I appreciate you wanting to be there for me Waverly. I really do, I'm sorry," Nicole said. She put her head in hands and shook her head. 

"I love you, Waverly. I'm so sorry that I hurt you. Those weren't my intentions at all," Nicole said, she started to cry and she started to feel a wave of emotions again. 

"I see you constantly defending and protecting me and Hazel. Especially, with your parents, your words never fail to amaze me, you somehow always find a way to defend us, yet be so polite about it. It's incredibly sexy," Waverly said with a small chuckle. 

Nicole gave a small dimpled smile at her wife. "Gotta defend your guys' honor." 

Waverly smiled and pulled her wife closer, "You're such a nerd," she said giving her a kiss on the head.

Marriage isn't easy, it's sacrifice, it's give and take. It's always being there for your partner, no matter what. Everyone always warns you about marriage and that it takes a lot of work to make the relationship work. But marriage is also the best thing that could happen to someone, it's about always finding your way back to one another, no matter how many times you disagree. Being able to not be embarrassed in front of your partner and know that they'll love you no matter what. 

"Come lay with me please," Nicole said heading for the sheets. 

"Of course, love," Waverly said. 

Waverly got under the sheets and let her wife get comfortable before adjusting herself. 

Nicole laid her head on Waverly's chest, breathing in her wonderful sweet strawberries smell. Nicole needed her to hold her right now, she needed her Waverly to hold her and remind her that she's safe in her arms. 

"Thank you," Nicole said quietly. 

"For what?" Waverly asked rubbing Nicole's back. 

"For being there for me and not leaving, especially when things got heated between me and my parents. You're everything I've ever wanted and more." Nicole leaned up and kissed her neck. 

"I'll always be there, Nicole. There's no way in hell I'm  _ever_ leaving your side," Waverly said, giving her a kiss on the head. 

"Waverly, I love you, _so_ fucking much. I feel awful that I hurt you and I really hope you know that wasn't me. I appreciate you more than you'll ever know," Nicole said burying her head into Waverly's chest. "I feel like I haven't been telling you that 'I love you' that much lately. But I do, so much. You're my best friend. And I'm sorry that you had to meet my parents like this. I'm sorry that I put you in the middle of all of this. I never wanted to be like my mother." Nicole said, her voice cracking.

Waverly all of a sudden felt something drip onto her chest, that's when she realized that Nicole was crying. Waverly heart broke, she hated seeing her wife so upset.  

"Baby, don't cry, please," Waverly said her voice cracking. It seemed like whenever her wife cried, she cried. "I'm here, I'm here," she repeated as Nicole cried even harder. 

"You are  _nothing_ like your mother. I see you with Hazel everyday, you're always the first one to get her when she cries, always volunteering to change her diapers, and she only seems to eat when  _you_ feed her. I'm amazed by you everyday, by your unwavering, unconditional love. You treat us both like princesses, you're incredibly selfless, always putting everyone before yourself." Waverly wiped a tear from her face and peppered her wife's hairline with kisses. 

"Don't cry sad tears, baby. Cry happy ones, you've got an incredible family, incredible daughter, _and_ an incredible wife," Waverly said smirking. 

Nicole laughed through her tears,"You're a piece of work Waverly Earp." Nicole sat up and wiped her tears. She leaned in for a kiss, wrapping her arms around Waverly. Waverly returned the kiss and wrapped her arms around her neck, pulling her impossibly closer. 

"Oh, I almost forgot," Nicole said unwrapping herself from her wife. She went over to her dresser and opened the top shelf, digging around through all her clothes. 

"What are you looking for?" Waverly said sitting up. 

"This," Nicole said pulling out a black box. 

"What are you doing?" Waverly said hesitantly, unsure of what was going on. 

"It's a push gift, y'know when you get a gift for your spouse who's given birth. And I'm so sorry I totally forgot to give it to you, with dealing with a newborn and now my parents- I'm an awful wife. Just add this to the list of a things that I need to make up for," Nicole said handing her the black box. 

She opened it to find a beautiful, silver band with a sapphire ring atop of it. Her stomach got butterflies and she couldn't believe that Nicole had done this for her. 

"No, Nicole. It's beautiful," Waverly said leaning in to give her wife a kiss. She pulled her in an embrace and could feel herself getting emotional. She slipped it on her finger and completely fell in love with it.

"I can't believe you did this. I love it. I love you so much," Waverly leaned in for another kiss. But Hazel wanted some attention too, because she started to cry in her crib. Waverly smiled and got up,"I got her."

Waverly came over to the crib,"Hi sweetie," she said in her baby voice. "You must've wanted some attention too, huh?" 

She came back to bed and sat down next to her wife, Hazel must've just wanted to be held because she immediately stopped crying the moment she was in Waverly's arms.

Nicole leaned over and grabbed the TV remote. "Heard ' _The Notebook_ ' is on tonight." 

Waverly smiled,"You hate ' _The Notebook_ '." Waverly came closer and cuddled up close to her wife. 

"I don't  _hate_ it per se, it's just not my top choice. But, as long as my girls are with me I think I should be ok." Nicole leaned down and gave Hazel a soft kiss on the forehead. 

"And I have a burger and milkshake to finish, I should be ok," Nicole said giving her wife the dimpled smile that Waverly loved. 

"I love you, Nicole," Waverly said softly. 

"I love you more."

"Not possible," Waverly said scrunching her brows. 

"Nah, totally possible. I'll love you more than you'll ever know," Nicole leaned in and gave her a kiss on the temple.

"How did I get so lucky?" Waverly asked smiling. 

"I think it's the dimples, babe," Nicole said taking a bite of her burger. 

Waverly and Nicole smiled at each other before starting the movie. It was days like these that really made them both realize how lucky they were. No matter what fight or disagreement they seemed to have, they always found their way back to each other. Every argument made them stronger, it made them realize just how blessed they were to find real love.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yikes.
> 
> But I need an opinion- so when I write, I had a general layout for each chapter. But I can't decide if I want Nicole and her parents to make up or not. My can't-hold-a-grudge part of me wants them to make up, but my writing side doesn't want them to just to add a little more drama. But I do whatever the majority of you guys want!  
> But I also realized that I totally forgot about the push gift, so that will be awkwardly put here, sorry guys!
> 
> Also, I'm not exactly happy how un descriptive and kinda plain my writing was in this. I'm not really happy with this chapter, not sure why but I had such a hard time writing this one. So sorry about that, but other than that I hope you enjoyed this! xx


	7. Perspective

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Waverly tries to talk to Nicole's parents. Nicole and Alice get into an accident.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys so much for the nice comments! I really love waking up to see all those in my mail :) I really appreciate your guys' opinions on the last chapter and will definitely be considering them all. Thank you so much for the support, love you all! xo

Waverly sat next to a very sleep Nicole, who was passed out in bed. She gently stroked her bright red hair and gave her a soft kiss on the forehead. 

"Wake up sweetie," Waverly said resting her forehead on Nicole's. "C'mon baby, time to get up," Waverly cooed. 

That didn't seem to wake her up, so Waverly went and peppered more kisses on her forehead. She waited a few seconds, seeing if Nicole would react, which she didn't. So she went in and kissed her softly on the lips, well, multiple soft kisses actually. Nicole was a heavy sleeper and it was almost impossible to wake her up, but, it was one of the things Waverly loved about her. 

But Nicole finally returned the kiss and somehow smoothly pulled Waverly on top of her.

"Nicole!" Waverly said giggling. "Nicole, stop it!" Waverly started to laugh harder when Nicole snaked her hand up Waverly's shirt, smoothly unhooking her bra. 

"What? Just doing my wifely duty," Nicole said smirking. Nicole sat up in bed, Waverly straddling her so they both faced each other. 

"Mm, someone woke up in a good mood," Waverly said playing with the hair on the back of Nicole's neck. She leaned in and gave her a kiss, she pulled her close and deepened it. 

Nicole broke the kiss and smiled at Waverly, "Why are you all dressed up, huh? Planning on going out without me?" 

Waverly smiled and brought her hands from her neck to her biceps. "Yes, actually. I just had to go and run some errands. But I wanted to remind you that you gotta pick Alice up from school today."

Nicole smiled, "Oh yeah, forgot about that. Thanks for reminding me." Nicole gave her wife that dimpled smile that Waverly fell in love with every day. 

"I won't be long, I promise," Waverly said, fixing her bra that her wife smoothly undone. 

"Anything you need help with?" Nicole said letting her wife fix her clothes. 

"Nope, just groceries and then I gotta stop at the home decor place down near the diner." Waverly got up and fixed her shirt. She went over to Hazel's crib and gently picked her up. 

"Home decor? For what?" Nicole said taking Hazel from Waverly's arms. 

"Hello, my sweet girl," Nicole cooed at her daughter. Hazel looked up at her mom and smiled, she started to giggle and reached her hand up. 

"Uh, just wanted to look around, I feel like the place calls for something new. If I find anything I like I might buy it," she said handing her a bottle. 

"You must be hungry huh?" Nicole said taking the bottle from Waverly. Hazel latched onto the bottle and started sucking right away. 

"What do you plan on finding there?" Nicole asked curiously. 

"Not, sure. We'll see," Waverly said grabbing her purse. "But, don't forget, Alice at 12:30." Waverly smiled at her wife and gently grabbed her chin and leaned down for a kiss before heading out the door. 

"See you in a few, my love," Waverly said from the stairwell. 

Nicole smiled as she fed Hazel, "Just you and me, Haze. Well, for now," she said glancing over at the clock. She was glad to be taking her mind off things and to be spending time with her niece. 

***

Waverly nervously walked up to the hotel check in, hoping to talk to Nicole's parents. Nicole had no idea she was doing this, she felt awful for lying and telling her that she was just running errands. She hated to break the loyalty to her partner. 

"Hi, could you to tell me what room Tom and Kathy Haught are staying at?" Waverly asked putting her best smile forward. 

"Yes, can I have a name please?" the hotel attendant said.

"Waverly Earp."

"Ok, do they know you're coming?" he asked. 

"No," Waverly said bleakly. 

"Ok, let me connect you," he said picking up the phone on his desk. 

"Hi, Mr. Haught? We have a Ms. Waverly Earp here asking for you," he said into the phone. "Yes, ok, thank you." 

He hung up the phone and looked up at Waverly. 

"Alright, you're all set. They're in room 324B," he said with a smile. "Have a nice day!"

"Thank you, you too," Waverly said heading towards the elevator. She was really hoping that things would go well and wouldn't end up like they did yesterday. All she wanted was to talk and not argue, and she was hoping that things would go that way.

***  
Nicole stood outside the school, waiting for all the Pre-k 3 and 4 kids to come running out the door. Alice was technically supposed to be in Pre-k 3 since she didn't turn 4 until May. But Wynonna insisted that she go into Pre-k 4, and no one argues with Wynonna.

Nicole had a full afternoon planned for her and her niece. As much as she loved her niece, she couldn't wait to pick up her kid, or _kids._

"Auntie 'Cole!" Alice said running up to her aunt.

"Hey, kiddo!" Nicole said squatting down and opening her arms for the little girl to jump right in. Nicole pulled away from her niece and saw that she was just smiling from ear to ear, happy to see her aunt.

"How was your day, sweetie?" Nicole said taking Alice's backpack and leading her towards the car.

"So fun! I colored and we played outside. She even let us play in the sand box!" Alice said, radiating positivity.

"Wow! That sounds like so much fun!" Nicole said. "Mind if I tag along?" she asked winking. 

"No, Auntie Cole! You're too big!" Alice said giggling. "And Ms. Watts even surprised us and gave us ants on a log for a snack!" Alice said, letting Nicole pick her up and put her in her carseat.

"Ew, what is ants on a log? She made you eat ants? Do I have to go have a talk with her?" Nicole teased, buckling her in. 

"No silly, it's celery and peanut butter and raising. So the raisins look like ants. It was actually not gross," Alice said. 

"Well, that's good," Nicole said starting the car. 

"I think we have some time, how does ice cream and the park sound?" Nicole said looking back at her niece in the rearview mirror. 

"Yeah! Can we please?!" Alice asked intensely. 

"Alright, ice cream and the park it is!" Nicole said driving off the ice cream shop. 

***  
Waverly knocked on their room door, unsure what to expect. She wasn't sure if she was even welcome after yesterday. 

She was greeted by Tom, who seemed to be in a grumpy mood because he huffed and rolled his eyes. 

"Come in," he said with a growl. "Willis, was it?" 

Waverly shook her head, "Waverly." 

Kathy all of a sudden came from the bathroom, "Oh Waverly, dear. Come, sit," she said with open arms. 

Waverly walked in to find coffee containers that filled the trash, their computer open- looked like they were going over funeral bills, and clothes and the beds in disarray. 

"Sorry that this place is such a mess," Kathy said, throwing some clothes in a suitcase and trying to neaten the bed. 

"Yeah, we've been a bit preoccupied these past few days," Tom said closing the laptop. "You want anything to drink?" Tom asked gesturing to the mini fridge in their hotel room. 

"No thank you, I'm good," Waverly said with a smile. 

"Please, sit," Kathy said pulling out a chair from the small table in front of their beds. "I'm assuming you want to talk about what happened yesterday," Kathy said sitting on the edge of the bed. 

"Yes and no," Waverly said putting her purse on the table. 

"We truly didn't mean for things to get so out of hand, there were things that were not mean to be said," Tom said taking a seat next to his wife. "As you can probably tell, we're not very good at the parenting stuff." 

Waverly fake smile,"Don't worry, no one is a perfect parent. And I know that you had the best intentions for, Nicole." 

"We did, we really did. It just all went wrong, we really want to make up with her. And I know a few words won't make up for years of hurt and suffering, but it's a start. And that's all we're asking for. Is to start over and we didn't do a very good job. And we're so sorry Waverly, so sorry we insulted you and your beautiful daughter. Your family is truly something, in a good way," Kathy said, realizing what she said. "And even your sister, I think it's great Nicole found such a beautiful and supportive family." 

Waverly smiled,"Thank you. I appreciate that. But if you don't mind me asking, what did you expect of Nicole? How did you expect her to react? I mean you didn't expect her to just easily forgive you did you?" 

Tom and Kathy both looked at each other. Kathy furrowed her brows in thought and you could tell that they were both thinking about how to respond to the question. 

"I don't know what we expected," Kathy said. "I think, we knew that it wasn't going to happen, but we wanted it to so bad that we expected it to. But in our heart of hearts we knew that it just wasn't going to be that easy."

"And we push, we push for things to happen. When they don't happen exactly when we want it to, we push until it does. And we did that with Nicole, it wasn't the right thing to do. We honestly have no idea how to handle Nicole."

The last part of the sentence upset Waverly, nobody handled Nicole but Nicole. "Ok, you don't handle Nicole, you don't handle anyone. Nicole is a person, a human, you treat her like the adult she is and with respect. Just because your her parents don't make you any more superior," Waverly said sternly. 

Kathy and Tom got a bit of a smile on their faces, which upset Waverly even more, maybe even angered her. "I'm sorry is that funny?" Waverly asked crossing her arms. 

"No, no it isn't. We're sorry, it's just so nice to hear someone stand up for Nicole like that. And it's just another reason to add onto why she has such a great family looking out and supporting her. On top of having bad parents, she didn't have many friends in school. So it's nice knowing that there's someone there for her when we weren't," Tom said. 

"Look, me and Tom, were never fit to be parents. You can obviously tell, when she was born I had no idea what to do. I didn't feel like a mother, I never felt that maternal nature that every mother seems to feel. I had such a hard time connecting with her. This is awful, but we never saw us having a child and being parents. That lifestyle, just wasn't for us," Kathy said placing her hand on Tom's knee. "I had no idea how to parent and trust me, I knew even then, that I was an awful mother. We stayed out a lot, yes I admit that. We weren't there for Nicole. We weren't at any of her school events or graduations and we should've never kicked her out." Kathy's face fell and you could see the remorse in her eyes. It was real. 

Waverly uncrossed her arms and sat back in her seat, trying to process what she had just said. "Well, no, you weren't there for her. And you're admitting it, that's a step. I understand you want to make up, but you went about it all the wrong way." 

"We know. We did, we just, don't know how to go about it. Every time we try she gets so angry and yells-" Tom said, getting cut off by Waverly. 

"So? You don't scream back?! That never helps anyone, it makes the situation worse," Waverly said, she felt herself getting frustrated, but she tried to keep her cool because she didn't want a repeat of last night. 

"Yeah but-" Kathy said, trying to make up another excuse but getting cut off again by Waverly. 

"No, no. To me you both are acting like a bunch of spoiled teenagers. All I heard is excuses from the two of you. What you should be doing is owning up to everything! I appreciate you owning up to the fact that you were negligent bad parents, but there's more to be said!" Waverly said getting up, she crossed her arms and she could feel her blood boiling. 

Tom and Kathy didn't say anything for a second. "You're right, Waverly. We're so sorry. I know these 'sorry's' don't mean anything. We really have no idea what we're doing. We're trying, I hope you know that."

Waverly said back down and sighed. "Everything from you seems half assed- it seems like you just want to make up so that the funeral goes smoothly." 

"No, that's not true, it-" Tom said, but Waverly interrupted him again. 

"No, I don't care about  _why_ you want to make up I care about the  _sincerity_ of it. You know what I think? I think you need to get your priorities straight, if you really want to make up with Nicole, I think you'd be trying harder, and might I add, doing a lot better job of it. You're not very good at acting and Nicole can read right through you," Waverly said, ever since Hazel was born, Waverly tended to get this 'mom' tone in her voice. And that was really coming out now. 

"Honestly," Waverly said grabbing her purse. "Let her come to you. Don't push it, be polite, and respectful of her boundaries. I'll see to it that she comes to the funeral, but if she doesn't want to talk to you and make up, then don't force it. Nicole will come to you when she feels ready. Give her some space, that's what she needs right now. And don't be surprised if she doesn't want to make up. Everything doesn't always go your way." Waverly got up and gave them a sad smile.

"Thank you for letting me come speak to you. I really appreciate it," Waverly said heading towards the door. 

Tom and Kathy were left speechless, just sitting there processing what Waverly had said to them. They didn't even let Waverly out or say goodbye. Waverly didn't mind though, she was hoping to get some sense into them and the fact that they were speechless was the icing on the cake. 

****

"Look at me!" Alice said from atop the slide.

Nicole looked up at her niece, who was being extremely brave and about to go down the slide that she would've refused just a few months ago.

"I see you, sweetie! You got this!" Nicole yelled from the bench. Hazel was in her stroller with the visor up, blocking the sun. Nicole was pushing the cart back and forth gently, hoping to keep her little baby occupied. 

Alice took a deep breath and looked down at the bottom of the slide. Preparing herself for what could potentially be fun, or super scary. She sat down at the top, it took a few seconds but she finally pushed herself down the slide. And you could see the giant smile forming across her face.

"I did it Auntie Cole! I did it! I really did it! And it wasn't even scary!" Alice said running up to her aunt. 

"Did you see me!" Alice said jumping up and down. 

"I sure did! You were so brave! Wait tell me tell mommy and daddy about this!" Nicole said giving her niece a high five.

"And Auntie Wave!" Alice said. 

"Of course, we'll tell her when we get home later!" Nicole said smiling at her excited, brave niece. 

"Look at what I can do," Alice said climbing up on this big plastic rock that they had up to climb for the kids. 

"Be careful, Alice," Nicole warned, the last thing she wanted was for her to fall. 

"I got it," Alice said, very independently, and just like her mother. 

Alice went to grab the ledge and hoist herself up, but slipped and fell knocking her chin the sharp corner of the rock. She immediately burst into tears. 

"Oh my God, Alice!" Nicole said running over to her bloody niece. "Alice, sweetie, I told you to be careful!" 

"But I- I- grab," Alice said through her tears, you could barely tell what she was saying through all her blubbering. 

People in the park started to stop what they were doing and look in their direction, which angered Nicole. What was so shocking about a toddler who got hurt? It happens all the time and everyone was acting like it was such a big deal. 

Nicole frantically searched through her pockets for a tissue or something to stop the bleeding. But she had nothing. She was absolutely freaking out and her heart was racing, she had no idea what to do. She took off her sweatshirt and used it to stop the bleeding, since she had nothing else. 

"Ok, baby. You're going to be ok. I promise," Nicole said gently picking her up and making sure she was still applying pressure. 

Alice was wailing and would not stop moving. Nicole had to tighten her grip on her so that she wouldn't fall in her arms. She quickly threw everything in the bottom holder of Hazel's stroller and quickly rushed to the car. She had no idea how she was going to get both of them in their carseat while making sure Alice's chin was attended too. 

"Ok, I got this," Nicole said picking Hazel up in her other arm. She gently placed her in her carseat and somehow managed to buckle her in one handed. 

"Alice, baby. Look at me," Nicole said. Alice was still crying, but it wasn't nearly as bad or loud as before. She gently lifted up her sweatshirt, to see if her chin was still gushing, which it wasn't; thank God. 

"Alice, I'm going to need you to hold this super tight to your chin ok?" Nicole said holding up the sweatshirt. 

Alice was hesitant, but shook her head and took her hand in place of Nicole's. But that helped Nicole a ton because now she could get Alice in her car seat and throw the stroller in the back of the car. 

She got into the drivers seat and quickly started her car and whipped out her phone. 

"Waverly, Alice cut her chin, I think we're going to have to go to the hospital," Nicole said while driving quickly to the ER. 

"Hopsital?!" Alice said from the back. She started to scream and cry again and let go of the sweatshirt that was holding her chin somewhat together. 

"Oh shit," Nicole said under her breath. "Ok, meet you there. See you in a few." 

"Yes, Alice. I'm sorry that we have to go there. But you know what?" Nicole said looking at her niece from the rearview mirror. 

"The doctors there are super nice, I wouldn't be taking you there if they weren't. And they're going to take such good care of you and they're going to make you feel so much better. And just  _think_ about all the ice cream you're going to get!" Nicole said, hoping to stop her from crying and show her that this wasn't going to be so bad. 

It seemed to work, she stopped screaming, but tears were still falling. She quickly pulled into the Purgatory Hospital parking lot and grabbed Hazel's stroller, quickly unbuckled her, and placed her in the stroller. She went over to Alice and gently lifted the sweatshirt, and the bleeding thankfully was slowing way down and starting to stop. She smiled at her niece to reassure her. 

"I promise, you're going to be just fine. I'm right, here baby. I'm never leaving your side ok?," she said picking up her niece and locking the car. Alice shook her head, still holding the sweatshirt to her chin. 

She grabbed the stroller and quickly walked into the ER, hoping to get someone attending to her niece right away. 

"Hi, I really need a doctor on my niece," Nicole said to the nurse sitting at the front desk. 

"Afternoon, Sheriff Haught. Doctor Robbins is right one there," she said gesturing for the doctor to come over to them. 

"Hi, Sheriff. I'm Doctor Robbins, what seems to be the problem?" she said extending his hand. 

Nicole had to let go of her phone, purse, and stroller handle to finally shake her hand. "Nice to meet you, my niece, Alice fell at the park at cut her chin and it was gushing blood. I wouldn't stop, it's finally slowing down, but from what I could see it was a pretty bad cut." 

"Ok, let's see what we got here," Dr. Robbins said picking up Alice and bringing her to one of the emergency rooms in the ER. 

"So, Sheriff. I believe that this is Wynonna's daughter correct?" she asked setting her down on the bed. She put on some gloves and gently removed the sweatshirt. 

"Correct, and it's Nicole. I'm not on duty," she said picking up Hazel who was starting to fuss. 

"Is she here today. Can we call her?" shee asked, taking some gauze and putting it on the cut. 

"No, I don't think so. She's actually out of town right now on some business, so we can call her she just won't be able to make it here today. It's just me, my wife should be here soon," Nicole said rubbing Alice's arm, trying to comfort her. 

"How you doing sweetie?" Nicole said giving her a smile. 

Alice didn't respond and just looked at her, with a very pouty face. 

"She's doing great," Dr. Robbins said. She grabbed some antiseptic and a cotton swab and started to gently dab the cut, cleaning it so it wouldn't get infected. "This might sting a little, sweetie." 

It did, but Alice didn't even flinch. She was taking it like a champ. 

"So, I think all we're looking at her is 4 stitches that should heal in about 2 weeks," she said taking one last dab before going for the draw with the suture kits. 

"What? No," Alice said. 

"I know it's scary. But I promise, you won't feel a thing," she said sliding her chair back over to Alice. 

"No!" Alice said, she turned her head away from her, closing her eyes and refusing to look at her. 

"Alice, c'mon sweetie. Don't you wanna feel better?" Nicole said squatting down so she was eye level with her niece. "Baby, don't be scared, I'm right here."

Alice didn't budge and still kept her eyes closed. Dr. Robbins and Nicole both looked at each other, trying to figure out what to do. 

"What if I got stitches too?" Nicole said standing up. "Would that make you feel better?" 

That seemed to intrigue Alice, because she opened her eyes. "Really?" 

"Really," Nicole said giving her niece an encouraging smile. She looked over at Dr. Robbins, who was shaking her head, agreeing with Nicole's method to get her niece to cooperate with the doctor. 

"Alright Nicole. Let's get you stitched up!" she said enthusiastically. 

Nicole put Hazel back in her stroller and walked over to him, turning her back from Alice, so they could pretend to put stitches in her, without actually doing it. So all Alice saw was Dr. Robbins 'weaving' the 'stitches' back and forth through Nicole's arm. 

"See? All set, nothing to it!" she said putting a bandage over her 'stitches.'

"See baby, not bad at all. Didn't even hurt," Nicole said squatting down and giving her niece a kiss on the forehead. "Close your eyes, it'll be over before you know it." 

Dr. Robbins was getting ready to stitch up Alice when Waverly walked in. 

"Hey," Waverly said walking over to her niece and wife. Alice opened her eyes and saw her Auntie Waverly come in."Everything ok? What happened?" Waverly rubbed her wife's back and gave Alice a soft kiss on the head.  

"Alice fell at the park and cut her chin, Dr. Robbins said she's going to need stitches," she said gesturing toward the doctor that was getting everything set up. 

"Only 4, they should be healed in about 2 weeks," he said taking out the needle. 

"What about scarring?" Waverly asked, knowing that Wynonna would worry about something like that. 

"Minimal, almost no scarring. And even if there was you wouldn't be able to see it unless you looked very close," she said with a cheery tone in her voice. Trying to calm the little 3 year old down. 

"Oh, great. Thank you," Waverly said looking back down at her niece. "How you doing, sweetie?" she said giving her a smile. 

Alice shrugged her shoulders and gave Waverly the same pouty look that she gave Nicole. In fact they could've sworn that it looked just like Wynonna. 

"What happened to you?" Waverly said pointing at the bandage that was on her arm.

"I got stitches, too," Nicole said smiling at Alice and winking at Waverly. 

"Ohh," Waverly said smirking. She leaned in and gave her wife a kiss on the cheek. 

"Ok, Alice, I'm going to need you to close your eyes. This is going to sting just a teeny bit, we're just going to make sure that you don't feel a thing," he said putting the hot needle up to her cut so he could sanitize the area. 

"Ok, here we go," he said grabbing the needle and stitches. "One, two, three," he said inserting the needle and starting to stitch.

Alice kept her eyes tightly shut, she didn't want to see a doctor in a white coat and a needle directly in her face. Although she didn't feel anything. She could slightly feel her chin being tugged back and forth but the stitches. But the good news, it was much faster than Alice had thought, it only took about a minute and she was all set. 

"You're all set you can open your eyes," she said patting the area one last time. She grabbed a red band aide and gently stuck it on her skin, with a little bit of Neosporin. 

"You were so brave, kiddo," Nicole said smiling at her niece. 

"So brave, I would've been bawling my eyes out," Waverly said sitting down next to Alice. 

"Yeah, I guess I was," Alice said proudly. Which caused Nicole and Waverly to laugh. 

"So those can't get wet," Dr. Robbins said. "When she bathes she's going to have to cover, normally some medical tape and Saran Wrap works pretty well. Make sure to gently clean it about once every one or two days. And don't keep the bandages on for long periods of time, letting it air out will help it heal. So, probably bandage it at night and she can keep it on during school, but take it off when you get home." 

"Um, do you think you could write all of this down?" Waverly said, she already forgot half the steps that she was given by the doctor. 

"Sure thing," she said. She opened her laptop and started typing furiously, trying to print this out quickly so she could get them on their way. 

"Wynonna called me earlier, said that she was stuck in Edmonton and wouldn't be home tonight. Told her it was alright that Alice sleep over for the night," Waverly said reaching her hand out to Nicoles. 

"Here that, baby? You get to sleep over tonight," Nicole said smiling at her. 

Alice didn't say anything, but she smiled at her Aunties. 

"What do you want for dinner? Anything you want," Waverly said, trying to make up for the fact that she had to spend sometime in the hospital instead of playing in the park. 

"Pizza," Alice said, still pouting a bit. She sat up and held out her arms, signaling for Waverly to hold her. Waverly gladly accepted the invitation and gently picked her up, being sure that she didn't bump her stitches. Nicole, helped while making sure Alice gently placed her head on her shoulder, making sure her stitches free of any hair or clothes. Alice wrapped her arms around her Auntie Waverly's neck and clung on tight, all she wanted right now was to be held. Waverly rubbed her back, knowing the little girl was very upset and frightened. 

"Pizza it is," Waverly said quietly. She hated that Alice had to get stitches and she hated to see her so upset.  

Dr. Robbins came back with some paper work and printed instructions. "Here we are," she said handing them the papers. "I just need you to sign here and here and then you can be on your way." 

Nicole grabbed the pen and signed her name and the date and handed them back to the doctor. "Thank you very much." Nicole smiled at her and shook her hand. 

"Ah, no problem. She was a real trooper. Better than most of the kids that come through here. Have a good one you guys." 

Nicole grabbed the stroller and found Hazel asleep. She put her arm around her wife's back and gently guided her out the door. 

"How was the home goods store?" Nicole asked, trying to get a rise out of her wife, who hated home good stores. 

"Ha, didn't end up going actually. I got the call from you and rushed straight here. I did get a few groceries and got some baby food. I think tonight is the night where we try to get her peas and carrots instead of formula," Waverly said opening the car door. She gently placed a half asleep Alice in her car seat and buckled her in. 

"Oh, that should be interesting," Nicole said situating Hazel in her car seat. "You mind calling the pizza place now? By the time we get there they should have our order ready."

Waverly nodded her head and took out her phone, being sure to order a large pepperoni and a garden salad, no cheese, for herself. She looked back at the rearview mirror to find both her daughter and niece peacefully asleep. 

****

"Alright Hazel," Nicole said popping of the lid of the baby food jar. "Hope you like peas and carrots," she said grabbing the baby spoon. Waverly came over and put a bib around her and sat next to her wife, wondering what Hazel would think of this new food. 

"What's that?" Alice asked, while taking a bite of her pizza. 

"It's baby food, you know how you normally see her with a bottle?" Nicole asked. Alice shook her head intently, wondering why they were making such a fuss over Hazel. 

"Well, she's getting too old for a bottle now. So we have to start giving her baby food. And baby food is mushed up, sorta like yogurt since they don't have teeth yet." Nicole said taking a small spoonful of the brown green substance. 

"Ok, Haze, open up," Nicole said bringing the spoon slowly to her mouth. Hazel hesitated at first, she stared at it for a bit, wondering what the hell was in front of her. Nicole brought the spoon closer to her mouth and she opened up. The strange taste confused her and her face went blank, but she swallowed it and didn't seem to mind it that much. 

"Hm, I think she likes it," Waverly said, giving Hazel a quick kiss on the cheek before putting her dirty dish in the sink.

"Did I eat that stuff?" Alice asked getting up from her seat and making her way over to her cousin, who was getting baby food all over the place. 

"Of course, maybe not this select one, but yes. But yes, you did eat baby food, probably made a mess like her!" Nicole said teasing her. 

"No! I'm super clean!" Alice insisted. 

"You sure are, honey," Waverly said. "But, you gotta finish your pizza, ok? Pizza and then ice cream." 

Alice shook her head and hopped back up into her seat and started eating. She  _really_ wanted to have some ice cream. 

"Want another, bite?" Nicole said getting another spoonful. Hazel was reaching out her hand and trying to grip for the spoon, but she had didn't really have a concept for that yet and was basically gripping air. 

Nicole gently placed the spoon back in her mouth, which she ate without hesitation this time. 

"You like that, huh?" Nicole said in her baby voice. "Yeah, you like peas and carrots?" Hazel started to smile and laugh at her mom and she reached out for more. 

Nicole gave her another spoonful, but had to catch the rest that she was spitting out. "You really must like that, huh. Look at the mess you're making!" Nicole said again in her baby voice. 

"Yes, you're making a mess!" she said, getting her daughter to smile and laugh. 

"I'm glad she likes it, honestly I had no idea how this was going to go," Waverly said cleaning up Alice and the table. "But she's definitely going to have to change after this. The bib didn't help much." 

"Oh yeah, you got it all over, little girl," Nicole said giving her another spoonful. "You tell Wynonna about today?" Nicole asked, diverting her eyes to Alice then back to her wife. 

"Yes, she surprisingly took it well. Said as long as there was no scarring she wouldn't have to 'end me,'" Waverly said.

Nicole shook her head and chuckled,"That's good, thought she would've been mad."

"Can I have some ice cream, please?" Alice said looking up at Waverly.

"Sure can," she said spooning her a small serving of chocolate ice cream with whip cream on top. "Go sit at the table and eat it, ok?"

Alice grabbed the bowl and spoon and hurried over the table, she couldn't wait to down that ice cream. 

Nicole was in the middle of feeding Alice, when Waverly caught her eye in the corner. She was trying to reach a wine glass all the way on the top shelf, but she was too short to reach it. She couldn't help but laugh to herself, Waverly would never admit that she needed help reaching things, never. 

"You need help there, sweetie?" Nicole said setting down the jar and spoon and getting up to help her short wife. 

"No," Waverly said immediately. She was determined to reach this wine glass. 

"You sure?" Nicole said, leaning against the doorway and crossing her arms. 

"Yes," Waverly said. She was extremely determined to reach this glass and you could tell because she always furrowed her eyebrows and stuck her tongue out just the slightest bit. She said that it's really ugly when she does that, but Nicole didn't think so. She thought it was absolutely adorable. 

Waverly was still trying to reach the glass, getting her fingertips only to the bottom of the shelf; when she felt a hand on her back and saw an arm reach its way smoothly to the wine glass. 

"Hey! I totally could've done it!" Waverly said putting her hands on her hips in frustration. 

"Mhm, sure babe," Nicole said handing her the wine glass and giving her a tender kiss on the nose. "You're adorable when you're in denial," Nicole said giving her heart eyes, which made it impossible for Waverly to be serious. 

Waverly rolled her eyes and smiled, she wrapped her arms around Nicole's neck and pulled her in for a kiss, playing with her soft, yet bright red hair. "I hate it when you're right," Waverly mumbled under her breath. 

Nicole couldn't help but smile even bigger,"Mm, I love you," she said giving her a kiss on top of her head. 

"Love you more," Waverly said pouring herself a glass of white wine. 

"Not possible," Nicole said taking her seat back down at the table to finish feeding their daughter. She gave her a few more spoonfuls, before shutting the lid and cleaning her face off. 

"Haze, you're a mess," Nicole said looking at her brown green stained bib and clothes. She took off her bib and threw it into the laundry room, then went upstairs to get her changed. 

"I'm done with my ice cream!" Alice said, she went over and handed the bowl to Waverly. 

"Was it good?" Waverly said rinsing it off and putting in the dishwasher. 

"Yes! But can we watch a movie?" Alice said, rocking back and forth, afraid that she would say no. 

"Of course, pick a spot on the couch and we'll join you in a few," Waverly said rinsing off a few more dishes in the sink. 

"Um, can we watch upstairs, in bed?" Alice asked, trying to be as cute as possible.

Waverly sighed, she knew she wasn't supposed to do this. But she couldn't resist. "Ok, just this once. And we don't tell mommy, ok?" 

"Yay!" Alice said running towards the stairwell and bolting up to their bedroom. 

"Hi Auntie Nicole!" Alice said jumping on the bed. Nicole had just finished putting on a new diaper on Hazel.

"Hey, baby. What are we doing up here? Going to bed already?" Nicole asked trying to get a rise out of her. 

"No! Auntie Wave said we could watch a movie up here," Alice said slowly making her way to her baby cousin.

"She did, did she?" Nicole asked raising her brow. Wynonna specifically told them over and over to not let her get used to going into someone else's bed but her own. 

"What movie do you wanna watch, then?" Nicole said, getting another onesie for Hazel. 

"Um, Toy Story!" Alice said hopping off the bed and going for the TV remote. 

"Oh, that's a good one," Waverly said joining them all in the bedroom. She went over to their vanity and took off her necklace and earrings, but of course letting her big diamond ring be the only piece jewelry on her. She went to the bathroom to take her makeup off and get into her sweats and t-shirt. 

"C'mon Alice. Let's get your PJ's on," Waverly said exiting the bathroom. Nicole placed Hazel in her crib and went to the bathroom to get ready for bed herself. Waverly took her nieces hand and guided her toward the nursery, she got her out of her day clothes and into her unicorn pajamas, a gift from Nicole herself. "Don't forget, Rocky," she said handing her small, ragged stuffed dog. It was her favorite and she always slept with it and brought him everywhere. 

"So, Toy Story? You have good taste, my not so little niece. Especially since kids your age are obsessed with Frozen," Waverly said walking back to the bathroom. Alice giggled and hopped right back on the bed. 

"It's my favorite!" Alice said getting under the covers. 

"Me too," Nicole said exiting the bathroom. She threw her dirty clothes in their hamper and grabbed the remote. She hopped into bed next to her niece only to have to get up again to attend to a crying Hazel. 

"No, I got her Waves. You enjoy your glass of wine," Nicole said walking over to the crib. She picked her up and grabbed her pacifier, she immediately stopped crying once she was in Nicole's arms. 

"You just wanted to be held, huh?" Nicole said sitting back down. 

"C'mon! Let's watch Toy Story!" Alice demanded. 

"Ok, hold your horses. We're putting it on," Nicole said grabbing the remote. She turned on the TV and put on Toy Story for the excited little girl lying next to them.

She put the movie on Alice snuggled more into the blankets and watched the more intently. Nicole cradled Hazel in her arms and gently her two fingers on the pacifier, keeping it gently in place. She looked over at her niece and wife, who both looked very comfy watching the movie. Alice snuggled under the covers with Rocky, and her wife, sipping the tall glass of wine she poured herself. She was wearing her glasses, which she almost never wore, she said that she thinks she looks ugly with them on. But Nicole kept insisting that she looked super cute. 

"What are you staring at?" Waverly said turning her head and smirking at her wife. 

"Nothing," Nicole said blushing and looking back down at Hazel, who was peacefully sucking on her pacifier. 

Waverly crinkled her eyes in disbelief, she knew something was on Nicole's mind, but she didn't wanna push it so she left it be. 

"Why is Sid so mean?" Alice asked from in between them. 

"I don't know baby," Nicole said. "Some people are just like that. But you know that it's not right to be mean to people like Sid, right?"  

"Yes, mommy and daddy said that I should always be nice, even if I don't want to be," Alice said proudly. 

Waverly smiled and the sight of Nicole parenting and it made her heart melt even more knowing that the little girl in between the sheets would soon be their little girl. 

"That's right, mommy and daddy are doing a good job," Waverly said. She gently rand her hand through her nieces soft brown hair.

Nicole couldn't help but stare again, she loved watching her wife interact with their niece. She couldn't wait until their little girl was Alice's age and they were making memories with her, too. Their little niece was already starting to fall asleep and they weren't even halfway through the movie. 

"You're staring again," Waverly said taking a sip of her wine. "Now you're going to tell me what's on your mind." 

Nicole smiled and blushed, "I just- can't wait until it's our little girl in between us," she said looking down at Hazel. "Like just thinking about it gives me butterflies."

"Me too. It's so surreal, I never thought I'd have this,  _we'd_ have this, especially with the curse. But now that it's over, I get to live out my childhood dream," Waverly said, looking off into the distance. 

"I know, I'm so glad that I came back to purgatory. I can't imagine not meeting you," Nicole said nostalgically.

"Y'know when you start thinking and get on a spiral and can't stop?"

Waverly nodded and took another small sip of her wine.

"Well sometimes, morbid at is sounds, if I think about not having in my life long enough, I start to cry," Nicole said blushing, she wasn't a cryer and sorta surprised herself that she was admitting this.

"Nicole, that's incredibly sweet," Waverly said, readjusting her glasses, which caused Nicole to chuckle. 

"You look super cute in your glasses by the way," Nicole said smirking.

"Shut up," Waverly said blushing. "I guess we should get her to bed," she said looking a very tried 3 year old. Nicole instantly got up, but Waverly stopped her before she was even out of the bed. 

"No, I got her," she said handing her the last little bit of her wine glass. "I think you need this," she said, giving her wife a wink. Nicole laughed and gladly accepted the little bit of wine her wife offered her. Wine in one hand and baby in the other. 

"C'mon, sweetie," Waverly whispered while she gently lifted Alice from the bed, being extra careful that she didn't wake her. Nicole watched her love walk out with a very sleepy Alice slung over her shoulder. She couldn't help but fantasize what Hazel would look like when she's three, slung over her mamas shoulder. She smiled back down at the little on in her arms. She glanced over at the clock at saw that it read 8, which was time for Hazel's last feeding of the night. She got up to get her bottle from the mini fridge that they had in their bedroom. 

"Here you go, Haze. Last one for the night," Nicole said softly while sitting at the edge of the bed. She took the pacifier out and gave her the bottle, which she quickly started drinking. 

"I think tomorrow we're gonna try sweet potatoes," she said holding up the bottle. She suddenly felt two hands on her shoulders. Waverly came up behind her and loosely wrapped her arms around her chest and rested her head on her shoulder. 

"She's out like a light," Waverly said yawning. "I'm glad, I wasn't sure if the stitches were going to be a problem."

Nicole shook her head, "Poor kid, I remembered getting stitches. I was 10 and I cut my foot open, you can barely see the scar now but, I bawled my eyes out. Doctors and nurses were real nice though."

Waverly didn't answer, just rubbed her shoulder, she was wondering if now would be a good time to bring up the funeral. It could be either a hit or miss question, but she was going to go for it anyway.  

"So, you know, the funeral is in a few days," Waverly said cautiously.

"Your point?" Nicole said bluntly.

"Do you plan on going? I mean it is your grandfather after all," she said.

Nicole sighed and thought for a minute, unsure of her answer. "Not sure. I really have no idea, I feel like I should go, but thinking about it makes my anxiety and stress levels skyrocket. What do you think I should do?"  

"I think you should go, you'd regret it if you didn't," Waverly said giving her a kiss on the jawline. She moved her hand to the back of Nicole's neck and played with the ends of her fiery red hair. 

"But what about my parents, my family?" Nicole asked with a worried tone in her voice. 

"I'll be right by your side, you can lean on me. And who knows, maybe they have let the past go, it might not be as bad as you think," Waverly said, trying tp be as optimistic as she could. 

Nicole let out a big sigh,"I don't want to talk about it anymore, Waves." 

"Ok," Waverly said softly. She lightly peppered kisses on Nicole's jawline before nuzzling her nose in the crook of her neck. 

"Done, already Haze? You just a got a little bit left," Nicole said trying to get her baby to drink the last little bit. "No? Alrightie then." Waverly got off of Nicole and got back under the covers. 

Nicole grabbed the burping cloth and burped Hazel, and gently cradled her, rocking back and forth. She was hoping Hazel would go down easy, and she thankfully did. She gently placed her in her crib and went to the bathroom to brush her teeth. Waverly pulled out her phone and checked her work emails to pass the time. 

Nicole came out of the bathroom and immediately flopped herself onto Waverly's lap and held her tight. 

"In the mood to cuddle, eh?" Waverly asked putting down her phone. 

"Always, but especially today," Nicole said letting herself relax into Waverly's arms. 

"Well, I will gladly oblige," Waverly said, adjusting herself so she was more comfortable, she gently wrapped her arms around her wife.

Nicole adjusted herself and was now laying on Waverly's chest. She lifted her head and looked at her wife,"I can't get over how cute you are in your glasses." 

"Stop, I look ugly," Waverly said readjusting them on her face. "If my eyes weren't killing me I'd be wearing my contacts."

"Not supposed to wear contacts to bed," Nicole said sitting up, somehow making something so unsexy sound so sexy. "Or glasses," she said taking them off and smirking at her wife. 

"Oh really? Thank you for that information Dr. Haught," Waverly said suggestively. She couldn't help but giggle at how flirtatious her wife was being. 

"You're welcome, it's my doctorly duty to serve my patients needs," Nicole said, trying to sound as serious as possible. 

Waverly crinkled her eyes at how sexy her wife was being. Just imagining her in some scrubs and a white coat. Haught damn. 

"What happened to your wifely duty?" she said pulling her close. "Gotta serve your wife, too."

"And I fully intend on doing that," Nicole said biting her lip. She kissed Waverly's neck and ran her hand up her shirt. Waverly smiled and pulled Nicole even closer. They were both exhausted, but both wanted each other, they didn't care how tired they were. They just wanted to be close and intimate together. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyone see that I threw 'Dr. Robbins' in there? ;) Not sure if you can tell but Greys Anatomy is my favorite show haha!
> 
> Ugh, I'm not happy with my writing in this one either. I think it went downhill after Waverly's talk to Nicole's parents. I just feel like I'm lacking detail and my writing seems dull. But my brain can't seem to fix that problem. My brain is fried with school and everything. So I think I might take a week or so to just get back into it, I hope you guys understand. 
> 
> But I hope you guys enjoyed this one! xx


	8. update- I need help!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> please read below and let me know!

I actually have another Wayhaught fic idea, well I've already started working on it actually. But it's one that's not as domestic as this one but definitely more angsty and dramatic and I think it's going to be a good one.

But 1) was wondering if you guys would be interested in this hopefully new fic and 2) was wondering if I should wait until this is completed or post them both simultaneously. But the other thing to note is that I don't think this fic is going to be done anytime soon because I plan on making it over like 20 or so chapters. But I'm literally the absolute worst with decision making so input is so much appreciated! Thank you all so much, love you all!! xo

Also hopefully the next chapter shoulder be up within the next week! 


	9. Old Scars and Future Hearts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nicole goes to the funeral and it doesn't go like she expected it to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please read the notes at the end! Much appreciated!! xx

Nicole put in her last earring and stepped back, looking at herself in the mirror. She was wearing a simple black dress and with some black heels. Not too fancy or dressed up, considering it was a funeral. 

" _Not bad... for a funeral,"_ she thought to herself. She grabbed the curling iron and started to curl her fiery red hair. She carefully grabbed a small portion of her hair, trying not to burn herself. But she wasn't careful enough because she ended up touching the side of her finger with the hot curling iron. 

"Ow, dammit," she mumbled to herself. She was not the best at curling her hair and every time she always managed to burn something, whether it was her finger, her neck, or even her own clothes. 

"Hazel, is changed and fed. Diaper bag is all set," Waverly said walking into the bathroom next to her. "How are you feeling?" she asked opening her jewelry box. 

"Nervous, very nervous. Waves I don't know if I can do this," she said with a shaky voice. "Ow, dammit!" She just burned her finger again, and damn it hurt. 

"Baby, I know you can do it," she said taking the curling iron from Nicole and finishing the last few strands of hair. "You're a lot tougher than you think." She gently curled the last strand of her hair. "And I'll be right by your side. You know that, just say the word and I'll be there." 

Nicole smiled and turned around and faced her wife. "I know, Waverly. And I love you so much for it." She leaned down and gently pecked her wife's lips. "You have to get dressed, honey," she said gently tapping her wife's bottom. 

"Yes, I know," she said breaking away from her wife's arms and grabbed her black, simple sleeveless dress that had a belt wrapped around the middle. Nicole grabbed her toothbrush and put a generous amount of toothpaste on it. She watched as her wife undressed out of her sweats and t-shirt, she couldn't help but stare and her wife's stunning, flawless body. Pretty soon she was just standing there with her toothbrush dangling from her mouth, God, this woman made the world and her stop dead in their tracks.  

"Babe, you have an awful staring problem," she said slipping on her dress. 

"Hm," she said taking out her toothbrush. "If the world saw you like I did everyone would have a staring problem," she said with a mouthful of toothpaste. 

She giggled, "Your such a sap," she said turning around so Nicole could zip her up. 

"Yeah, but you love it" she said zipping up the back of the dress, toothbrush still in her mouth. 

"I do," Waverly said turning back around. She stood on her tippy toes and gave her wife a kiss on the cheek before grabbing her makeup bag. 

Nicole smiled and finally finish brushing her teeth, trying to ignore the fact that Waverly looked this good, especially for such a gloomy day. 

"Is the necklace, too much?" she said revealing a simple gold necklace with a pendant that had words 'NH' engraved in it. Nicole had gotten it for her for their 2nd year anniversary. She knew it was cliché- because it was. But she wanted to one- get a rise out of Waverly and two- wanted to get her something nice. So it was a perfect two in one deal. 

"No, of course not. Nothing is too much on you, baby," Nicole said smiling. 

"What about these?" she asked putting on these mid size hoop earrings, that were beautiful but  _did not_ go with her outfit, at all. 

"Oh no, that, that is too much on you," she said walking closer. 

"Yeah, I don't know what I thought they would go with this outfit," she said taking it off and placing them back in her jewelry box. 

Nicole walked up and wrapped her arm around her waist and pulled her close,"But,  _just_ the earrings," she said whispering in her ear. "I think we're working with something there." She actually grabbed, yes grabbed her ass and pulled her even close, gently nipping her ear. 

Waverly smiled and starting giggling, she wasn't sure why her wife was being so flirtatious these past few days, but she sure wasn't complaining. After all these years, every touch, every kiss still gave her butterflies, Nicole still had that effect on her.

"Baby," she said melting more into Nicole's embrace. She could've taken her right there and then, but she stopped herself. "Baby, as much as I'd love to, the funeral is in an hour, we don't have enough time. And I don't want to have to take a shower and get ready again," she said slightly pulling away from her wife. 

"I love you, trust me, I want to, too." She gave her wife a sympathetic smile and gently kissed her on the cheek, before letting go and doing her makeup. 

Nicole slumped her shoulder's in defeat,"Despite you saying no, you still look super hot," she said walking up to Waverly. 

Waverly smiled and turned her head to give her a quick kiss on the lips. Nicole gently patted her wife's bottom before leaving the bathroom to check on Hazel. 

"Hi, sweetie," she said picking her up and handing her a teething toy. She gladly grabbed it and shoved it right into her mouth, getting it all sloppy and covered with spit. 

"How's your teeth today?" she said trying to get a look into Hazel's mouth. She had just started teething and it had been rough on both of them, more for Hazel since teething wasn't exactly pain free. 

"Well, there's been minimal crying, so I guess that's good," she said lifting her more up on her side. 

"I just hope she isn't too bad for Wynonna," Waverly said walking out all dressed up. 

Nicole's jaw dropped, somehow she made going to a funeral so damn sexy. "Wow, baby. You are a vision," she said walking over with Hazel in her arms. 

"You're too, sweet," Waverly said blushing. She gave Hazel a soft kiss on the lips before reaching up to give her wife another kiss. "I guess we should get going," she said looking at the small watch on her wrist that read 1:30. 

Nicole's face fell and you could just about see the sharp pang of anxiety come over her. "Do we have to?" she said sighing. 

"I'm afraid so," Waverly said grabbing the diaper bag. "I know you're scared, I can't promise everything is going to go super well, but I can promise that no matter what I'll be there. I know I keep saying it, but it's true. I'm never leaving your side. And even if it doesn't go as planned, that's ok, too. Nothing is perfect and the universe doesn't always follow the plan you want, but we will find a way to stay positive and see this is a new light." She gently rubbed Nicole's shoulder and she gestured toward the door. 

Nicole gave her a sad, misty smile. "You're an angel, you know that?"

Waverly chuckled,"So I've been told." 

****  
"Ok, so she just had her bottle so she should be all set for about an hour. We should hopefully be back around 5," Waverly said setting down the diaper bag in Wynonna's house. 

"No after party?" Wynonna asked slyly. 

"No," Nicole said immediately. 

Wynonna raised her eyebrows at Waverly, but Waverly just shook her head, signaling to Wynonna that she should leave the subject alone. 

"Uh, well her and I should be all set," Wynonna said, trying to change the subject. "Right Alice?" she called out. 

"Yeah!" she said running out from the playroom. "Hi Aunties!!" she said running up to Waverly. 

"Hi sweetie," Waverly said kneeling down so she was eye level with her little niece.  

"Auntie Waves, why does Auntie Nicole look sad?" Alice whispered crawling onto Waverly's lap. 

"We have to go do something that is hard and sad. And it's not easy for Auntie Nicole," Waverly said quietly. 

Nicole and Wynonna were too busy talking over a quick cup of coffee to notice what question Alice asked. 

"Oh, that sounds sad," Alice said frowning. 

"Yeah, it is. But you know what would make her feel better?" Waverly asked her attentive little niece.

"What?" Alice asked, getting excited. 

"Giving her a nice big hug and telling her that you love her," Waverly said with a smile. 

Alice smiled big and got off of Waverly's lap, giving her feeling back in her legs. 

"Auntie Coleee," she said. 

Nicole smiled at turn around, "What?" she said with a very distinct sad tone. 

"Brace yourself!!" she said running up to the redhead. She jumped into Nicole's arms, she thought she was pretty powerful, but Nicole caught her with ease.

"Kid's strong like her mama," Wynonna said winking at Alice.

"No, I get it from daddy," she teased back.

"What?! I let you have ice cream for breakfast today," Wynonna said taking a sit of her coffee. "Thought I would've gotten a little bit more credit, here kid!" 

"Don't worry mommy, I still love you," she said playing with Nicole's necklace. It was just a simple silver necklace with a Saint Christopher pendant in it. She had got it when she was in college when she found out he was the patron saint of travelers, so she thought it was pretty fitting.

"When does the funeral start?" Wynonna asked. 

"2:30," Nicole said looking down at her little niece in her arms. "How you doing, kiddo?" Nicole asked setting her down on the counter.

"Good, I finished all my chores today so mommy said we can go out to eat when daddy gets home from the store," she said, gently kicking her feet back and forth that were hanging off the edge of the counter.

"Good for you, baby! Chores can be kinda a hassle huh?"

"Yeah, but mommy said I did a good job," she said.

"Sweetie we're going to be late," Waverly said placing her hand on Nicole's shoulder.

"Oh yeah," Nicole said sighing. "Sorry kiddo, I gotta get going. But, I'll be back soon, I promise." Nicole tucked some hair behind her nieces ear and kissed her on the head.

"Thank you again, Wynonna for doing this. We appreciate it," Nicole said wrapping her arm around Waverly.

"No problem, Haught. Don't worry she'll be fine," Wynonna said picking up her new baby niece.

"Right, but just in case-" Waverly was about to give Wynonna a whole list of contact information but Wynonna cut her off.

"Babygirl, I said we'll be fine. I promise, Doc is going to be home soon anyway. I love you and um, have a good time? I guess? I don't know what you wish someone going to a funeral," she said.

"Ok, thank you again, Wynonna. I love you," Waverly said heading for the door.

"Yep, no problem, love you, Happy Kwanzaa," Wynonna said. Sometimes Waverly wondered what ran through her mind when she said random stuff like 'Happy Kwanzaa.'

"Baby, don't worry. Hazel is going to be just fine. Trust me I wouldn't have let you drop her off if I didn't trust her, despite your unbelievable ability to see the best in people," Nicole said opening the car door for Waverly.

"I know, she'll be fine. I'm just, worried. I mean I know we left her alone, once before... at our, um, date night," Waverly said buckling herself in.

"And she was just fine then and she will be now. I promise," Nicole said pulling out of the driveway. She honestly thought of breaking something in the engine so that they wouldn't have to go to the funeral. But Waverly would read right through that and somehow found a way to get them there anyway- on time. 

"Do we have to go to this," Nicole asked for the fifth time today. 

"Yes, the answer is going to be a yes each time you ask," Waverly said with a slight chuckle. 

Nicole sighed, the closer and closer they got, the more she could feel her heart sink into her stomach. She hated the feeling of fearing the unknown, but unfortunately, that's what life is. It's full of unanswered questions. 

Waverly could tell that Nicole was nervous and placed her hand on her thigh, trying to comfort her as best she could. 

"Take deep breaths. I know what I say might not help much, but I do know taking deep breaths help," Waverly said, gently stroking Nicole's thigh with the pad of her thumb. 

"Thank you, baby. Don't worry, what you say always helps, it may not take my anxiety away- it does help," Nicole said making a right turn into the church. The only church in Purgatory. 

Nicole took a big breath in unbuckled her seatbelt. She stared at the church, unable to get up and go in. There was sort of a sad, yet blank expression on her face. Waverly didn't know what to make of it but just promised that she would comfort her wife as best she could. 

Waverly took Nicole's hand in hers and kissed it, "You ready?"

"No," Nicole said bluntly. 

"C'mon sweetie," Waverly said letting go of Nicole's hand and stepping out of the car. Nicole wasn't ready for this, for one thing she hadn't been to church in years and the second thing seeing the rest of her family, people she hasn't seen in years. To say she was nervous was a huge understatement. 

****

Nicole opened the doors to the old, drafty, small church to find it filled with her family members. They immediately turned around, some gave dirty looks, some just looked and then looked away, some didn't even turn around at all.

She saw her mother's face light up a little when she saw her daughter, but she looked away and found a spot in the back. She took off her coat and put it on the bench behind her. She was expecting the mass to start, when her Uncle Verne turned around and gave her a small smile. 

"Nice to see you, sweetheart," he said with a wink. 

"Good afternoon everybody..." the priest said in the background. 

Waverly watched Nicole's face light up when her uncle said hi to her. She got a huge smile on her face and immediately looked down, not trying to make her smile to obvious. She tried to hide it, considering they were at a funeral and she wasn't exactly a favorite family member. Waverly grabbed her hand and took it in hers, she was glad that at least someone here besides her wasn't being a complete ass.

***

The mass was ok, Nicole was never a fan of mass, not because of the gay controversy. Mainly just because she thought it was boring. 

"That wasn't too bad, I guess," Nicole said grabbing her coat. 

"If we could all rendezvous at the Purgatory please, everyone," the priest said. 

"No, it wasn't. It was very peaceful and very nice service," Waverly heading for the church doors. 

The church service was very nice and very traditional. They honored him and his life achievements, mentioned his kids, and grandchildren, and even Nicole. Which shocked her because she thought he didn't want anything to do with her since she had come out. Her mother gave the obituary, and it even got Nicole teary-eyed. 

"Nicole!" Kathy exclaimed before they walked out. 

Nicole turned around and saw her parents coming towards her and some of her family members giving her snarls. But honestly, she was just wondering where her brother, Wes was. 

She gave her parents a very forced a smile. 

"Oh, honey we're so glad you came," she said taking her hands in her own. 

"Your grandpa would've been happy that you came," Tom said resting his hand on Nicole's shoulder. 

"Yeah, I guess. It was a nice service," Nicole said, not knowing what else to say. 

Waverly debated staying in the car, but she decided to stay here just in case things got heated. 

"It was, you both look so beautiful," Kathy said holding out her arms, gesturing to both girls. 

"Thank you," Waverly said blushing. "I like your necklace," she said, also unsure what to say. 

"Thank you both for coming," Tom said. He leaned in to give Nicole a hug, which she didn't return, she gave Waverly one, too. She felt a little awkward but did give him a very loose one back. 

"How is everything, Nicole?" Kathy asked, trying to make some conversation. 

Nicole was a little surprised at such an open question at a somber occasion. Especially with they're we're- super- close- with- our- daughter attitude they had going. 

"Um, ok, I guess," she mumbled. She wasn't in the mood for talking, she kind of just wanted to get everything over with. 

"Everything going well with the baby?" Tom asked, trying to get more than a few words out of her. 

"Yeah," she said, very plainly. 

"Well, that's good, you kn-" Kathy said, getting cut off by Nicole. 

"We'll see you at the cemetery," Nicole said leading Waverly out of the door and to the car. 

Tom and Kathy were upset with again, how dismissive Nicole was being, but they took Waverly's advice and decided it was best to leave her alone. They didn't want to push and make things worse, for once they were going to do the right thing. 

"You ok?" Waverly asked buckling her seatbelt. "I could tell that wasn't easy for you. You did a really great job," she said bringing a cold hand up to her face. 

"Yeah, I'm fine," Nicole said starting the car. "And no, it wasn't easy." 

"Can I ask you something?" Waverly wasn't sure if the question she was asking was crossing the line. 

"Of course," Nicole said warmly. 

"Do you want to make up with your parents?" Waverly asked cautiously. 

Nicole sat for a minute, just driving and thinking about how she wanted to answer. "I kinda do, yes. But I don't know how. It feels too weird for me to go and talk to them. I want to, but I just can't find the right words." 

Waverly nodded, "Well, what do you want the relationship to be? Just made up, so it's not more awkward. Or do you want a relationship with them?"

Nicole sighed, "I don't know. I guess I just want to make up, and then see where that goes from there."

"Baby, I think you should just go for it. At this point, I don't think you should have any regrets." Waverly didn't want Nicole to struggle with what she did, she had so much guilt and anger and regret towards her own family. It was an awful feeling, and she didn't want Nicole to deal with that. 

Nicole sat there, processing what Waverly had said to her. "Yeah, I guess you're right. I think I will."

Waverly smiled slightly, proud that she had gotten through to her wife. 

****  
"I'm gonna go talk to them," Nicole said, eyeing her parents.  

The service had ended, and it was very nice but very somber. He was buried with one of this military badges and in Purgatory, the two main things that he asked for. Nicole had to admit, she was actually going to miss him, despite not talking for years. She just wished that she could go back in time and take some of the things back that she said.  

"Good luck," Waverly said before letting go of Nicole's hand. 

"Hey you Nicole's wife?" asked some guy in his mid 20s. He was blonde hair and was about Nicole's height. He was very handsome. "I'm her cousin, Kyle," he said with a very warm smile. 

"Hi, yes nice to meet you," Waverly said, getting into a conversation with Nicole's cousin. 

Nicole nervously walked up to her parents, she could feel her hands getting clammy, and her heart started beating faster and faster with every step. 

"Um, mom, dad?" she said with a shaky breath. 

"Nicole, what is it?" Kathy asked sympathetically, wondering why she was so nervous.  

"I want to apologize, for being so rude. I understand that you guys want to make up. And I'm sorry again; I didn't mean to scream or yell or say any of what I said. I'd like to make up and get a fresh start before you leave. I don't want to leave things like this again," she said taking her hands out of her pocket. She anxiously waited for an answer, which she hated. She hated the unknown. 

"We're sorry, too. We didn't mean to upset anyone or insult your family or wife. We love you, and our intentions were true to make up and try to get set on the right foot," Kathy said taking her daughter's hands in hers. 

"We didn't mean to come here and fight; we're sorry that it ended up that way. We are," Tom said. "I know probably no amount of words will make up for the pain and suffering we caused. But we really would like to just forget the past and start over." He smiled at her and took Nicole's other hand in his. "Only if you want to. We don't want to push you into anything you don't want to do. I think that's the only right thing we've done so far," he said sighing. 

"Thank you. I appreciate it and I would, I really would. I want to just start over," Nicole said giving a small smile. "Can we just try and forget about everything that happened? Just start over from this day?" 

Kathy and Tom smiled, relieved that their daughter wanted to make up with Nicole. Instead of answering they pulled her into a big hug, which shocked Nicole, but she wasn't fighting it. 

"We love you, Nicole. We really do," Kathy said. 

"We're so glad that you want to make up, too," Tom said, gently stroking Nicole's red curls. 

Waverly smiled so big when she saw them all hug. She was so glad that things went in a positive direction. She was relieved that Nicole didn't have to live with the guilt and anger like she did. Although, she did feel a little jealous that Nicole was able to make up with her family, she quickly dismissed that. She wanted to be happy for her, not jealous. 

"Hey, sweetheart," Nicole's Uncle Verne said behind her, placing his hand on her shoulder. 

"Uncle Verne!" she said smiling and giving him a big. "Aunt Sue!" she said pulling her into a hug.

"It's so nice to see you guys. How have you been? How's Riley?" 

"She's doing great; she's so smart. She's actually in grad school right now at Harvard Medical School, plans on being some type of surgeon or something. 

"A brain surgeon, Verne," her Aunt Sue said, smiling and rolling his eyes. "He can never remember what she wants to do. But we are so proud of her. She's sorry that she couldn't be here, she's stuck at school right now, getting ready for finals. She's shocked that it's the end of April already. She has a lot of work to do, but she's doing well, and I know that she's going to be a great doctor. But she asks that you call her, she'd like to get together, I mean you know how close you guys were. She's done with school in just a few weeks, so maybe you could do something then? " 

"Yeah. I'd love, too. I miss her, too. I'm sorry that I cut off connections will all of you. I didn't mean to do that. But I'm not surprised that," Nicole said looking down. She felt awful that she cut off connections with all her family, even the ones who she was extremely close to her. Both she and her Aunt and Uncle were very close, hell they were her godparents. Her cousin Riley didn't have any siblings, so Nicole was like her sister. 

"Nicole, would you like to say hi to the rest of the family?" Tom asked coming up behind her. "I promise you, no one is mad or upset with you." 

Nicole scoffed, "Then why did great Uncle Bruce give me a lip snarl?"

"Well, you know your Uncle Bruce. He can be a bit... aggressive. And I everyone is really glad to see you, I think they might be a little upset because you nev-" Kathy stopped herself, realizing what she almost just said. 

"What never called them? Or checked in?" Nicole said sighing. Her family wasn't huge. It was just two aunts and uncles, a few cousins, and only Nicole's grandmother at the funeral. 

"Nicole," her grandmother called out. "Sweetie, I'm so happy to see you," she said pulling Nicole yet into another hug. "I'd just like to apologize on behalf of the family, for turning our backs on you. We love you, sweetie, I think we can all agree on that." She turned to the side to reveal the rest of her family, all smiling. It seemed like they were all happy to see her. 

"We're all so happy that you're here. It means a lot to us, and I know that it means even more to your grandfather," her Aunt Jennifer said. 

Honestly, it was a wave of emotions for Nicole. All of her family members all told her how sorry and how happy they were to see her. It felt nice to know that she now had two families. But nothing would ever replace her family in Purgatory. 

Waverly was eyeing Nicole and her family while she was talking to Kyle, not that she wasn't listening to him. She was just curious how things were going with her wife. And it was incredibly relieving to see her makeup with, well, everyone in her family. 

Kyle noticed that she was half paying attention to him and half looking in the other direction. 

"I guess we should get over there, huh?" Kyle said turning around. 

"Yeah, we should," Waverly said following Kyle down the hill. 

They slowly made their way down the hill, considering the snow was melting and it was a bit slippery. 

Nicole saw her wife walk up to her and smiled. "Everybody, this is my wife, Waverly," she said talking Waverly's hand in hers. 

"Hi, everybody, nice to meet you all," Waverly said smiling. 

Smiles ran across everyone's faces, and Waverly was greeted with a bunch of 'Nice to meet you's!' and 'you're so pretty!' and her personal favorite, 'How did you meet Nicole?' 

It was also pretty overwhelming, but Waverly was glad that she was there were no problems and that everyone was so friendly with her. 

Everyone talked for a little while, about Nicole, the family, her job, her wife. Everything, really. They talked for a few more, but Nicole decided that she really wanted to get home to her baby. 

"Alright guys," Nicole said placing her hand on Waverly's back. "I'm so grateful that we all caught up and I love you all so much, but I think that we should get going." 

There were a bunch of 'aw's' and 'don't go, join us for the after party.' But Nicole had enough family time for the day. She just wanted to be home with her wife and baby. 

"Well, it was very nice to meet you, Waverly," Sue said. She pulled Waverly in for a hug, which surprised Waverly but she was glad that she was being accepted by Nicole's family. 

"Bye guys! And don't worry, I'll call!" Nicole said from their car. 

"Baby, you're beaming," Waverly said smirking. Nicole couldn't stop smiling. 

"What? No, I'm not," Nicole said blushing. 

"Yes, you are. It's ok, don't be embarrassed, I'm so happy for you and your family," Waverly said placing her hand on her thigh. "Aren't you glad you went?"

"Yeah, I am, thank you so much, Waverly. I don't think I wouldn't have gone if it weren't for you," Nicole said. "I love you."

"I love you, too baby," Waverly said. "And it wasn't me, it was all you." 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! My new fic 'Fast Car' is up! So please go check it out!! 
> 
> Wow, this chapter. Oof, my writing. Sorry if the ending was a bit rushed, I just wanted to get this one out! But I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!! xo


	10. Update #2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys so much for the support :) love you guys sm xo

Hey guys- so you remember the week break I was talking about?

Yeah, I'm taking that. 

I'm so busy with school and I have all these doctor appointments bc I'm lowkey messed up, haha. But yeah I'm super stressed and my skin is such shit right now. I'm breaking out so bad. Like I haven't broken out this bad since middle school. So I just need one thing off my plate just for a little while. I hope you guys understand and thank you for the nice comments and everything <3 xo

But I will be posting on my new fic 'Fast Car' I already have some pre-written chapters so make sure to go read that one and stay updated!! 


	11. Call Us

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nicole says goodbye to her parents and recieves some shocking news.

Waverly walked down the stairs to find Hazel squealing in her high chair and flailing her stuffed elephant around, while Nicole knelt in front of her, laughing with her and making faces, and using her high pitched baby voice. Waverly was sure her heart was going to burst for her beautiful family. 

Nicole was so fixated on their daughter that she didn't even notice Waverly come down the stairs. She walked over and placed her hands on her shoulders. Waverly bent down and gave Nicole a kiss on the cheek. 

"Morning, sweeties," Waverly said, bending down to give Hazel a kiss on the head. Hazel laughed even harder and started to hit the tray attached to her highchair. "This is unusual, normally I'm up before you," she said, making her way to the kitchen to pour herself a cup of coffee. 

" _And_ it's only 7:50, you don't get up after 8 o'clock. Anything you want to tell me?" Waverly said smirking. She leaned against the sink and watched Nicole pick Hazel up from her highchair and make her way over to her. 

"No, just, I don't know. Woke up early and couldn't fall back asleep I guess," Nicole said, nuzzling her nose against Hazel's cheek, which caused her to giggle and reach her hand out to Nicole's cheek. 

Waverly smiled at how cute her wife and daughter were being at 8 in the morning. She never knew Nicole to get up early, never. The only time she voluntarily woke up before eight was if she had to go to work. 

"Happy about making up with your parents?" Waverly asked, grabbing her mug and taking a sip of coffee. 

Nicole started to blush and a giant smile formed across her face. "Maybe," she said laughing. "Ok, yes. So much, you know how I hate leaving things unresolved. I feel like a gigantic weight has been lifted off my chest and I feel like I have a clean conscious." 

Waverly grinned at her happy wife and set down her coffee mug and wrapped her arms around her wife and Hazel. "I'm so glad, baby. I'm so glad that you made up with your family, I love seeing you so happy." She leaned in and gave her wife a long kiss on the lips. 

As much as Nicole wanted it to last longer, it couldn't. One- their daughter was in Nicole's arms and two- she had just taken a giant dump in her diaper. 

"Oh, Hazel, you didn't. You just ate! How could it go through you so fast?" Nicole asked, pulling away from Waverly and sighing.  

"I got her," Waverly said, taking Hazel from Nicole's arms and grabbing the diaper bag. "What did she have this morning?" 

"Bananas, this morning. She literally ate 10 minutes ago, I don't understand how she digested it so fast," Nicole said, washing her hands. 

"Did  _you_ eat this morning?" Waverly asked, stopping midway to the laundry room and turning around; raising an eyebrow at Nicole.  

Nicole looked down and turned towards the fridge. "Um, no?" she said, opening the fridge and pulling out some eggs. She turned back to Waverly and gave her a sheepish smiled while holding up the eggs, to show her she was going to eat, eventually. 

"Start cooking, sweetie. You gotta eat something," Waverly said, turning around and walking back towards the laundry room to change their soiled daughter. 

Nicole chuckled while she opened the egg carton. She felt so content, now that she and her family was made up and there was no more anger and resentment. She had just finished scrambling the eggs when she heard a knock at the door. She wiped her hands with the towel and went to answer it. 

"Mom, dad! Come in," Nicole said, opening the door wider and stepping aside, letting them in. 

"Hi, sweetie. Sorry that we dropped by so early. Our flight is at 10:30 and we just wanted to stop by and say our goodbyes, well for now," Kathy said, rubbing the side of Nicole's arm. 

"We'll be back soon," Tom said with a wink. "And there's one more thing. We were wondering if we could-" 

"If we could meet our granddaughter?" Kathy blurted out, interrupting Tom and finishing his sentence. "We would really like to meet her, Nicole. Be her grandparents, love her?"

Kathy and Tom were unsure how Nicole was going to react considering her past reaction to them wanting to hold Hazel. But Nicole broke out into a huge smile and shook her head yes. 

"Of course you can. And I'm sorry that I was so rude before," Nicole said looking down at the floor. "But, yes, you can. She's getting her diaper changed right now and-" Nicole said, getting interrupted by Waverly. 

"Well, that was not pleasant," Waverly said, coming out of the laundry room. "Sometimes I don't understand how something so gross and so big can come out of one little human." Waverly set down the diaper bag and looked up to see her mother and father in law, trying not to laugh. 

"Oh my goodness," Waverly said, looking down at the long red plaid shirt that was covering her bottom. And her bottom was only wearing boxers, very short boxers, so it looked like Waverly wasn't wearing anything but that plaid shirt. 

"Oh my goodness," Waverly said, trying to cover her body with her very small, but muscular arm. "I'm uh, I wasn't expecting anyone," Waverly said, quickly shuffling over to Nicole and handing her Hazel and hiding behind her. "I'm sorry, I promise I don't look like this  _all_ the time," Waverly said, which wasn't true at all. She slept like that almost all the time, and Nicole  _loved_ it. 

"It's ok, dear, we get it. We popped by unexpected and caught you off guard, don't worry about it," Kathy said, trying to hide her smile. 

"So, just the shirt or..." Tom said with a smirk. His comment received a hand slap from Kathy.

"Dad!"

"Tom!" Nicole and Kathy both said simultaneously. Nicole reached her hand behind her and grabbed Waverly's hand. 

"What? I was joking," he said readjusting his hat. 

Waverly blushed and smiled, "It's ok. Let me go change into something, um, less revealing." Waverly quickly kissed Nicole's cheek and let go of her hand, rushing upstairs. She held the bottom of her shirt down, hoping that the shirt wouldn't bounce up and down, revealing even more than she wanted. 

"Really, dad?" Nicole said, putting her head down in embarrassment. Hazel, on the other hand, was laughing up a storm over all the commotion. "I can't believe you did that. My poor wife!" she said with a laugh. 

"Your father hasn't grown up, dear. You know this," Kathy said. "But, Nicole, so could we, um?" she asked, holding out her arms and gesturing toward Hazel. 

"Yes, of course," Nicole said with a smile. She walked over to her parents and gently handed them, Hazel. She had to admit she was a little uneasy about how Hazel would react to being held by complete strangers. 

Hazel was very confused and stared at them blankly, with just a little bit of drool forming in her mouth, which caused Tom and Kathy to laugh. 

"Hi, Hazel," Kathy said softly. "We're your grandparents." Kathy was overwhelmed and she could feel herself tearing up at happiness. 

"Nicole, she's beautiful," Tom said, taking off his hat and gently placing his hand on Hazel's back. "Wow, look at her eyes, they're so blue." Tom smiled and Hazel and gently tickled her stomach, caused her to coo and laugh. 

"Well, I'll be upstairs getting ready. So I'll leave you guys to it," Nicole said, heading towards the stairs. As she headed up to get ready, she heard them all laughing and Hazel squealing, per usual. 

"Oh my gosh, they love her," Nicole said walking into their bathroom. She walked in on Waverly basically naked, wet hair and still in her boxers and in the process of clasping her bra in the back. Nicole's heart stopped and she couldn't help but stare at her beautiful wife, she was  _so_ lucky. 

"Who wouldn't, she's is  _our_ daughter. And everyone loves us," Waverly said proudly. 

"Wow, so cocky," Nicole said, walking closer to her. She wrapped her arms around Waverly's petite waist and pulled her close. Waverly giggled and wrapped her hands around her neck. 

"Oh c'mon, look at us. Who wouldn't love us? I know I love us," Waverly said, smiling and looking into Nicole's eyes. 

Nicole flashed her dimples and slid her hand from Waverly's waist to her ass, giving it a small squeeze, which caused Waverly to jump slightly. 

"What are you doing? Your parents are right downstairs!" Waverly whisper yelled. She giggled and leaned in for a soft kiss on the lips. 

"Well, when you're dressed like that..." Nicole said, swiftly but softly throwing them both onto the bed, Nicole on top with only an inch of space between them. "How could I resist?" Nicole smirked and leaned in for another, hungry kiss. 

Waverly flipped positions so she was on top, deepening the kiss and grabbing a fistful of Nicole's hair. Nicole had just undone the bra when Waverly pulled away. 

"I love you, but it would be rude of us to have sex while they're downstairs," Waverly said sitting up. She fixed her bra and climbed off of Nicole and went to their closet and grabbed a dark orange sweater. 

"Take a risk, Waves," Nicole said, getting up and wrapping her arms around Waverly from behind, walking backward back towards the bed. She placed soft kisses on her jawline and up and down her neck. She even gently nipped and kissed her ear, trying to take her back to the bed. "I mean, our date night  _did_ get interrupted." 

Waverly got goosebumps and her stomach was fluttering. She loved that after all these years Nicole still had this effect on her. Nicole made her feel like a lovestruck teenager, every day. 

"Baby..." Waverly said desperately. As much as she wanted to have sex with her wife, she knew she couldn't and it would be extremely rude to do that when they have guests over. "Jesus, the things you do to me," she said, tilting her head so that it was easier for Nicole to kiss her neck. For a split second, she considered throwing Nicole on the bed, but she snapped out of her and broke Nicole's embrace. She turned around and gently cupped Nicole's face in her hands. 

"You're extremely hard to say no to," Waverly said with a smirk. 

"You're extremely hard to stay away from," Nicole said, picking Waverly up so she was straddling her waist. Nicole looked up at her lovely wife and gave her the most genuinely happy smile that Waverly hadn't seen in a while. You could tell making up with her parents really lifted a lot of guilt off her shoulders. 

Waverly giggled and leaned down for a kiss, wrapping her arms around Nicole's neck. She nuzzled into Nicole's neck, breathing in that intoxicating vanilla dipped donuts smell. 

"Put me down, before this goes further because trust me. It will," Waverly said quietly. As happy as she was for Nicole and her family, she  _really_ wished that they weren't at their house. Right now she just wanted to be alone with her wife, naked, and in bed. "The only I tolerate in this house when we're having sex is Wynonna." 

Nicole laughed and gently placed her back on the floor, still keeping her hands on her waist. 

"I love, you," Nicole whispered in her ear. She gently placed a kiss on Waverly's jawline and pulled her into a big and long hug. As much as she wanted to have sex, the hug still made them both feel a lot better.  

Waverly had to stand on her tippytoes to fully embrace Nicole's huge, but she didn't mind. She loved being wrapped up in her best friend's arms. It was a feeling like no other.  

"I love you, too sweetie. So much," Waverly quietly said. She pulled away from the hug and gently placed a kiss on her nose before heading for their vanity and opening her jewelry box. 

"Baby," Nicole said quietly, taking off her pajamas and opening their closet. 

"Yes?" Waverly said, taking out some simple and small diamond earrings. 

"Thank you," Nicole said quietly, putting on a dark navy sweater. 

"For what?"

"For getting me to make up with my family and forgive them. I don't think I ever could've done it without you. I probably would've stayed angry and continue to resent them. Making up with them was probably the best thing I've done for myself. You constantly support me every day and not to be chliché but you make me a better person and I'm so, so thankful for you, " Nicole said, throwing on some jeans.   

"Baby..." Waverly said. She was starting to blush and a huge smile ran across her face. "I love you so much. But you've got it backwards, you make  _me_ a better person. I'm in awe of your huge heart and the fact that you forgave them for the awful things that they did to you," she said, walking over to Nicole, who was brushing her hair.

"Well, I couldn't have done it without you," Nicole said, setting her hairbrush down. She smiled and pulled Waverly into one last hug before they headed downstairs. 

"I love you, Waverly. I love you and Hazel and I'm so grateful to have such a beautiful family," Nicole said. 

Waverly pulled away and saw a few tears fall from Nicole's face. She smiled and gently wiped one away with the pad of her thumb. "You are pretty lucky," she said with a smirk. 

Nicole laughed and gently tapped Waverly's bum. 

"But I love you, too," Waverly said taking Nicole's hand in her own and leading them both downstairs. 

They walked back downstairs to find Hazel sitting on the floor, chewing on one of many teething rings. Their parents were sitting right on the couch watching and taking in every moment, watching their granddaughter be fascinated by her blue and green ring that was in and out of her mouth- it was covered in slobber. 

"Took you long enough," Tom said with a smile. "I didn't realize it took you  _that_ long," he said with a wink. 

Waverly blushed and Kathy and Nicole shot him a glare. Nicole more of an embarrassed glare, Kathy more of a death glare. 

"Dad?! My God," she said with a sigh. 

"Tom, I think you should stop talking," Kathy said, very seriously. 

Tom's smile faded and he shook his head and pretended to zip his lips shut. Kathy sighed and bent down to pick up a teething Hazel. 

Nicole and Waverly sat at the armchair adjacent to the couch. Nicole sitting in the actual chair and Waverly sitting on the armrest. Waverly wrapped her arm around Nicole and placed her hand gently on her shoulder. 

"Nicole, dear. As much as we'd  _love_ to stay, we do have to get going," she said glancing at her watch, which read 8:47. Their flight was at 10: 30 and it did take about 40 minutes to get to the closest airport from Purgatory. "We both, unfortunately, have work first thing tomorrow morning. And I know that's an awful excuse, but we were unsure as to how everything turned out and we didn't take a vacation day. And not sure if you remember Karen, my boss. But she is a little uptight as to last minute vacation days and I never finished the brief I was supposed to hand in on Friday." 

Kathy was an extremely popular lawyer back in Vancouver, where Nicole was from. Despite Vancouver being a pretty big city, Kathy was the person to call if you were in any legal trouble. 

"Yeah, and I got some chickens to dismember tomorrow," Tom said, very calmly and nonchalantly, like that was something you'd normally say in conversation.

Waverly looked at Nicole confused, wondering what Tom was referring to. 

"He's a chef at a fancy 5-star restaurant. It's farm to table so they get full chickens and fish and stuff," Nicole said, placing her hand on her thigh, trying to comfort her poor _vegan_ wife. Waverly did look pretty disturbed. 

"Tom, we have a rule. You just explain that you're a chef, _no one_ needs the gruesome details," Kathy said with a smile, playfully slapping Tom's arm. 

"My dad is a little bit, um, raw," Nicole said, glaring at her father.

Waverly laughed, "It's ok. My family is a bit raw as well," she said, looking at Nicole. Nicole knew that Waverly was 100 percent referring to Wynonna. 

"But, if I'm being serious," Tom said, changing his demeanor from funny to serious. "We really are going to miss you guys. We don't want to leave but if we want to keep living in our house we have to get back to work. And trust me, we know that sounds like a cop out," he said, holding up his hand in submission. " We love you, Nicole. So much," he said with a genuine smile. 

"And we're so incredibly grateful that you found it in your heart to forgive us after everything we put you through," Kathy said, wiping the slobber off her hand. 

"Oh, here let me," Nicole said, getting up and going to take Hazel from her mom. 

"No," Kathy said, holding out her hand in defense. "No, I've had two kids, I can handle a little slobber." Kathy got up and grabbed the diaper bag on the kitchen table and took out a bib, and wiped her mouth. 

"Speaking of kids," Nicole said, turning to her mother and then back to her father. "Where is Wes? I thought he would've been here," she asked somberly. 

Waverly could tell easily that she missed her brother, it was easy to see just by Nicole's facial expression and body language that she and her brother are close, or, were close. She didn't really know the details about her and her brother. 

Kathy sighed and turned around slowly, looking up at Nicole and then down at the ground. 

"He is in Iraq," she said quietly. 

"He wasn't able to make it home in time for the funeral. In fact, he was supposed to coming home a month ago, but I guess they needed him to serve more time or something. Honestly, I don't know the details, I just know that he couldn't come home," Tom said, taking his hat off. "We miss him, too. He  _really_ misses you, too."

"When you, well, when we lost touch, he didn't know how to get a hold of you. He still wanted to be your annoying big brother. I know he was really looking forward to seeing you," Kathy said, swapping the teething ring for a pacifier. She came back and sat next to Tom and Nicole went back to the armchair, where Waverly was still sitting. 

Nicole sighed and stared at the window, Waverly knew there were a million things running through her mind. 

"Is he ok? Have you talked to him recently?" Nicole asked with desperation and concern in her voice.

"We talked to him before we left. He's fine, not injured or anything. Not in the best condition, but, for being in Iraq and serving for the military, he's fine," Kathy said. "And he wanted us to give you this," Kathy said, hading Hazel to Tom and grabbing her purse. 

She pulled out a red envelope that was addressed to Nicole, it was her brother's handwriting. She could tell by how poorly his writing was. 

"He wrote this for you before he got deployed," she said handing Nicole the beaten up envelope. "He wanted us to give it to you the next time we see you or if he, um," she said, her voice faltering. She took a deep breath and continued. "If he didn't come back. Don't open it right now. He wanted you to open it when we weren't here. I don't know why, but we just want to respect his wish." 

Nicole stared at the faded red and crumpled envelope in her hand, not sure what to make of it. She was thinking a million things at once and her emotions were all over the place. She missed her big brother and she even missed the somewhat dangerous and annoying pranks he liked to pull. 

"Do you know when he is coming home?" Nicole asked, looking at her parents for the first time since they started talking about the subject. "I really want to see him."

"I think the last time he said about 4 months, we're not really sure. He wasn't really sure either," Tom said, gently bouncing Hazel up and down on his knee to keep her content. "But he really wants to see you, too." 

"Wait," Nicole said getting up and making her way to the kitchen. She set the red card down and grabbed a pen and paper and wrote her phone number down. 

"Here, my number. For you and for Wes, tell him to call me or something the next time you talk to him," she said, handing them her number. 

Kathy smiled and took the ripped piece of paper from Nicole's hand and looked at it and folded it and put it in her purse. "Thank you, Nicole. He'll be happy that he's going to have this." 

She looked at Tom and they both nodded, agreeing that they had to get going or they were going to miss their flight. 

"Well, we do unfortunately have to get going," Tom said, getting up. "We're sorry again and sorry to end this on such a sad note. But, on the bright side, we're so happy that we made up and we love you so much, Nicole."

"We'd do anything for you, sweetie. For you both," Kathy said smiling at her and motioning her to come over. "We love you both, so much. And our granddaughter is adorable, please, call us? We don't want to lose touch again, we'd like to see you, maybe for holidays, or birthdays?" 

Nicole smiled and took her mom's hands in her own. "Of course, I'm not letting that happen again." 

"Both of you, call if you need  _anything,"_ Tom said, handing Hazel back to Nicole. "We hate to leave you again, especially with your lovely wife and beautiful daughter."

"Don't feel bad, just be happy that we're in a good place. And I love you, too," Nicole said smiling. 

"Waverly, please forgive us for how awful we were to you and what an awful first impression we made. We love you as well and don't think we're leaving you out. You truly have a beautiful daughter," Kathy said, grabbing Waverly's hands in hers. 

"Of course not, I completely understand. And by the way, I know Hazel really loves you guys, too. I've only seen her laugh that hard for my sister," Waverly said with a smile. 

"Who wouldn't love us? It's us!" Tom said with a laugh. 

Nicole rolled her eyes and smiled, Waverly and her father were oddly similar when it came to their sense of humor. 

"Waverly," Tom said, placing his hands on her shoulders. "I just met you, and trust me, I love you. But treat our daughter and granddaughter right, ok?"

Nicole put her hand to her forehead and sighed. "Dad? I wouldn't have married her if she wasn't good to us, she's perfect."

"I know, but male or female, they're still getting some type of talk. And trust me, we haven't even gotten down to the nitty gritty yet. That'll be fun," he said, winking at Waverly. 

"Oh my God," Nicole said, sighing with a tired Hazel in her arms.  

"Tom, stop scaring the poor girl," Kathy said, pulling her husband away from Waverly. 

Waverly, on the other hand, thought it was funny and laughed. "It's ok. And you don't have to worry. I like to think I'm a pretty good wife," she said, smirking at Nicole.

"Ok, get out," Nicole said jokingly, pointing to the door. 

Everyone laughed and they all slowly walked toward the door. 

"We love you guys, please,  _call_ us," Kathy said, really enunciating the last part of the sentence. 

"We'll be back down here if you don't. And trust me, you don't want me back down here," Tom said, sternly but jokingly. 

"Oh you don't want that, man snores like a freight train," Kathy said rolling her eyes and smiling. 

"But really, we're only one phone call away," Tom said. "And unfortunately, the time has come to say goodbye," he said dramatically. 

Kathy rolled her eyes again and gently slapped him in the stomach. "We love you, all of you. Stay in touch and please visit us," she said, embracing them all for a giant hug. 

Tom came around them and wrapped his huge arms around all them, which caused them to laugh, but Hazel start to cry. Every pulled away and chuckled a little bit. 

"Oh we're sorry, Hazel," Kathy said, gently tickling her. 

"Don't worry," Nicole said, bouncing her up and down, which seemed to calm her down. "Our little girl is a bit dramatic."

Kathy smiled and looked at her daughters and granddaughter. "We'll be in touch and don't forget to visit us!" 

"Oh, I forgot my hat," Tom said, reaching for his head. "I'll meet you in the car," he said heading back into the house.

Kathy nodded and smiled, "I love you guys," she said before heading off for the car.

Tom came back out with his hat on. "And Nicole," he said turning to her. "You're aunt and uncle are so proud of you. And they would  _love_ Hazel. They may not be here with us, but just know they're always here," he said, gently poking her heart. "Not to be cliché," he said with a grin. "But know they love you so much and if they were here, they would love your family even more. But I'll just leave it at that. I love you both," he said embracing them both in a bear hug. He gave them all quick kisses on the cheek before heading off to the car. 

Nicole closed the door and you could tell that she was upset that her parents had to leave. But she was happy that everything worked out. 

"I wish they didn't have to leave," Nicole said, looking down at Hazel, who was contently sucking on her pacifier. 

"I know, baby," Waverly said, coming up to Nicole and holding her hand, leaning up against her. "Mother's day is next month, we can visit her then if you'd like," she said with a smile. 

Nicole smiled and kissed the top of her head, "I'd love to. Make up for all the ones I've missed." She turned around and looked at the clock and saw that it read 9:10 and since Hazel did get up pretty early this morning, she thought Hazel could use an early nap. 

"Y'know, Hazel did get up early and I thought I'd put her down early," Nicole said, smirking at Waverly. 

"Yeah?" she said with a suggestive smile. "What are we going to do in the meantime?" 

"Well, I was thinking we could finish what we started," Nicole whispered in her ear, sending goosebumps down Waverly's spine. 

"Mm, yes, I agree. Can't leave anything unfinished."

Waverly and Nicole both smiled at each other before heading upstairs to put Hazel down and spend some much needed alone time together. 

***

"Hazel is asleep and I thought we could finish Golden Girls. We only have a few more episodes to go," Waverly stopped mid-sentence and saw Nicole staring the opened card her brother had given her. She looked conflicted and very distraught.  

" _Oh no, this doesn't look good,"_ Waverly thought, slowly making her way over to Nicole. 

"Nicole? Are you ok?" she asked, sitting next to Nicole. "What is it?"

Nicole held up the card and a tear fell from her face. "Read for yourself," she said handing it to Waverly. She got up and made her way to the kitchen, taking out a teapot. 

Waverly looked down at the card, well, it was really a letter. It was a whole piece of paper filled out on the front and halfway filled out on the back. She had no idea what she was about to read, but she was intrigued by the length of the letter and read anyway. 

_~~_

_Wesley J. Haught_

_12/29/16_

 

_Dear Nicole,_

_If you're reading this I'm assuming you made up with mom and dad. Or they somehow found your address and mailed it to you and now they're staying at your house. It's creepy how good they are at finding people. I'm hoping it's the first one and you did makeup with mom and dad. They do miss you a lot and wish they didn't kick you out. They're just too proud to admit it._

_I'm writing this the day before I get deployed, I have to be up at 4:00 tomorrow morning and get to my flight. I'm going to be deployed for a year and a half to two years. And I don't even get to spend New Years with mom and her drunken friends. Boo hoo._

_I know we haven't talked since you got kicked out and trust me, I feel like an awful big brother for just cutting you off like that. I was young and stupid and was scared mom and dad would kick me out if I tried to call you. I didn't want to risk not getting into the military so I kept my mouth shut. I know, I'm a coward, you know me. Not the best at standing up to people, unless they're picking on my baby sister, then I'll throw hands_ ☺. _Right now I'm probably deployed and only Lord knows where. Hopefully, they have steak, you know I love my red meat._

The teapot started screaming, which pulled Waverly's attention from the letter. Nicole poured her self a hefty cup of tea and sat back down, on the other side of the couch. She was extremely emotional and she just needed some space. 

_I've always wondered what the Middle East is like, I guess I'm going to find out. Also, I know you're a worrier, so please, don't worry about me. I promise I'm coming back, I wouldn't leave you in a world without me. I think we both know you wouldn't survive. Oh and by the way, I dropped out of UC Berkley, I didn't get kicked out. Like you thought, so you owe me 10 bucks. School just isn't for me. And I said if my basketball scholarship didn't work out then I'd join the military. And that's exactly what I did._

_Nothing much as happened since you've been gone. Aunt Heather got divorced. Again. And got remarried. Again. We all made a bet on how long this marriage would last, I said 4 months, which is actually quite generous,_   _considering she's married 6 men, well make that 7 now that she married that loser, Randall_ _. I mean, what the hell kinda name is Randall? He sits on his ass all day and drinks beer and watches the news and any sports game that's on. He's fat, bald, and smells like shit. Other than that, literally nothing interesting has happened. Wait, no that's not true. Freshman year at Berkley, I was at a party and met this girl, Megan. I thought she was beautiful and couldn't stop thinking about her. It took me 2 weeks to finally man up and ask her out on a date. But I did, I asked her for dinner. Brought her to a pub nearby actually. I know, I already know what you're thinking, that's not a good first date spot. But we loved it, we drank, and ate a lot of carbs. After that, we walked around town until 1 in the morning, and the rest- the rest you get to know when you call me ;)_

_Long story short, we dated for 2 years and the summer before I enlisted I proposed. I know you think college proposals never work out, which is true, sometimes. But this is different Nicole. You'd love her. She's adorable, the kindest person I've ever met (besides you) and incredibly smart. She's actually going to medical school and wants to be a pediatrician. She loves kids and I promised her I'd return so we can have some adorable kids. Trust me, they're going to be adorable._

_But I didn't write this letter to catch you up on me and family stuff because that'll happen when you call me. I wrote this letter basically to say if I don't come back for any reason, I love you. You're my best friend and my number one girl (don't tell Megan). I wanted to tell you that you can be whoever the fuck you want to be. Don't listen to mom and dad, honestly, who gives a fuck about what they think. Do what makes you happy. Trust me pumpkin spice, you're a spitfire and you don't take no for answer. Don't let their naive views get in the way of what you want to do in life. Whoever you marry, I know I'll love. Fall in love, stand proudly at the altar and know, I'm there, even if I'm not. If I don't make it your wedding, you're going to have to do an impromptu second wedding so I can dance, get drunk, and fuck shit up. And the best part about having a gay sister? I get to talk to my sister about girls, what dude can say that about their sister?_

_Just hear me out, I know I used to tease you and embarrass you a whole lot when we were younger, and I'm not going to apologize because you know it was the best times of your life. Except for that time, I accidentally told Aunt Martha you got fired from your first job and failed a class all in the same month and she wouldn't stop talking about it for 5 months. I'll apologize for that because no one wants to deal with Aunt Martha, not even mom. I promise it did it all out of love! No, but for real, I know you never got why I was so mean to you and why I was such a little shit when we were growing up. Basically, mom and dad were always criticizing and always on your ass for everything. And being your big brother I hated seeing you get hurt so much, so I caused trouble and teased you all the time to get the attention off you and onto me. I was hoping if I got in enough trouble, I'd be the one getting yelled at all the time and not you. As annoying as you were, I never wanted to see my baby sister slowly fall apart every day. And trust me, I did. And I did and it was not fun to watch. This not the heart to heart that I wanted to write in a letter, but you can take what you can get._

_I don't want you to feel crippled by mom and dads vulgar and degrading comments. I've seen them tear you down, don't let that follow you into life. Trust me, I still feel like I'm crumbling under the weight of their judgment. I know you're going to marry someone great. And I know you'll have adorable, stubborn kids, just like you. Do us both a favor and don't raise them like mom or dad, teach them perspective, tell them everyone is different and that's ok, they're allowed to be different and everyone should be treated with respect. I don't want to see any niece or nephew of mine become a stuck up, gloating snob like our parents. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love them, but they can be real assholes sometimes. I'm so glad that we never forgot our sense of humor as we got older because I don't know where I'd be without my best friend, even if we haven't talked in a while. I'd never admitted this in person, which is why this letter is pretty helpful. But I actually sorta loved when you came into my room after I got in trouble and tried to cheer me up. Whether it was talking about your day at school or doing something stupid just to try and make me smile. Like jumping off the bed, pretending your superman and breaking your arm. I know I always yelled at you to get out, but they secretly did cheer me up._

_I'm getting off track here. I just wanted to say that I love you, a lot. And don't think of this letter as 'in case I don't come back' think of it as 'things I probably could've never said to your face, so I wrote it in a letter.' I am going to come home and I am going to meet your wife and kids. You're going to meet my beautiful fianceé and we're all going to get drunk, not with the kiddos around. We're not mom and dad. You know I'm not good with the sappy heart to heart stuff, but you get what I'm saying. Don't let mom or dad or anyone else stop you from being you, as cheesy as that sounds. I don't want you to get teared down, even more, I don't think I'd be able to watch that and I have no idea where you are. Just be happy and gay with your lovely wife and kids. I promise I'm coming home and when I do I'm going to find you and visit you and be the best uncle your kids will ever know. I love you baby sis, I'll see you soon._

_Love,_

_Wes_

~~

Waverly wiped a tear from her eye and looked up at Nicole, who was sipping her tea and staring at the fire.

Nicole looked over at Waverly and set her mug down and looked at her.

"Nicole," Waverly said quietly, getting up and sitting close to her. She took Nicole's hand in her own and gently rubbed the top of her hand with her thumb, trying to comfort her but still leaving her some space.

"He said he hated seeing me fall apart," Nicole said, with tears falling from her eyes. "He just wanted to protect me, and I cut him off, too," she said, looking down, tears falling all over her lap. She was crying hard and loud at this point. Waverly had never seen this side of Nicole before, not even when she was first distraught over her parent's arrival. It broke her heart to see Nicole like this. She had just made up with her family and she was beaming over it, now she was right back to where she started and Waverly hated it. All she wanted to do was take her pain away. 

"Why did I do that to him? Why couldn't I have just called him, tell him it's not his fault," Nicole said between sobs. "I'm such an awful person, he probably hates me."

A few tears fell from Waverly's eyes and she wrapped her arms around Nicole and pulled her into her embrace. Holding her and gently rubbing her back, not really knowing what else to do.  

"Baby, you're not an awful person. And he doesn't hate you, he wants to see you again. He knows that you still love him, despite everything that has happened. You're not awful, baby. You're human and I know your brother knows that. No one expects you handle your situation perfectly. He's going to come home and it's going to feel so good," Waverly said, letting her go so she could catch her breath. 

Waverly placed her hand on her thigh and looked at her. "He loves you, you're parents love you, you're whole family loves you. I love you, Hazel loves you, hell, even Wynonna loves you. Don't think that a few mistakes are going to send us running because it's going to take a whole lot more than that to make us not love you anymore. If that's even possible," she said with a small smile. 

"What if he dies, Waverly?" Nicole asked, looking up at her. She could feel the tears forming in her eyes, and before she knew it, she was crying uncontrollably again. "What if he dies and the last thing he remembers about me is getting kicked out and never calling him, not talking to him for 2 almost 3 years? I wouldn't be able to live with myself if that happened," she said. "Why, what is wrong with me that I'm that self-centered!? Not even thinking about my brother, the person who has been there for me through it all. Everytime time my parents said something degrading he'd always step in and defend me. He'd come into my room after I'd been sobbing and talk to me, telling me that it was ok and mom and dad didn't mean it, not to listen to them and I should do whatever makes me happy. Without him, I don't know how I would've survived living in that house. When I was a toddler he used to take care of me when my parents were out, getting drunk or gambling. He used to change my diapers, feed me, everything. And he was only 8 years old. 8! And he had the responsibility of a 30-year-old!" she said, wiping tears from her eyes and sniffling. 

"And I never even thanked him! What the hell is wrong with me! He has done so much for me and I haven't even thanked him," she said, throwing her head into her hands. 

Waverly sat even closer and wrapped an arm around Nicole, letting her head fall onto her shoulder. 

"Nicole, he knows you're thankful for everything you've done for him. And I know because you became a police, the Sherriff for God's sake! You did everything he asked you to do, marry someone you love, have kids, go to the police academy, be  _happy._ All older siblings want their little brother or sister to be happy and do well in life. Even though they'd never admit it. Wynonna has told me time and time again that she loves me and how she'd do anything for me. Doing everything to protect me, even if I didn't agree with it. He loves you, he's going to love you no matter what you do in life. He's never going to stop loving you and he's coming home. I promise that baby," Waverly said, gently kissing Nicole's temple, leaning her forehead against the side of Nicole's head. 

Thankfully Nicole's crying slowed down, it didn't stop altogether, but she was sobbing and her tears weren't falling as fast. 

"I just want him to come home, I want to meet his fianceé and I want him to meet Hazel. Oh my God, he'd love Hazel. He's always been so good with kids. He's going to be such a great uncle," Nicole said with a slight smile. "He always said he was going to teach my kids and his kids how to play guitar and how he was going to get them to start a band. 'The Family Band' is what he called it. He wanted to be _that_ uncle and  _that_ dad. He really is going to make a great father," she said looking at the fire. "I miss him so much." 

Waverly's heart dropped, she hated seeing her wife so upset. She pulled Nicole into a full embrace and gave her a soft kiss on the head. "He will, baby. He will."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't remember if I did or didn't say where Nicole was from so I just went with Vancouver, if it's wrong and I did say something different earlier, let me know and I'll change it.
> 
> But I hope that you enjoyed this one! And thank you guys so much for understanding me needing to take a little break. It was much needed and I feel super refreshed! I appreciate your support and love you guys so much! :)
> 
> Please check out my other fic 'Fast Car' ! I will be posting chapters back on there, too. I expected to post some pre-written chapters, but just decided to take a break altogether. Check it out and tell me what you guys think! <3


	12. Patience

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nicole anxiously waits for a call from her brother. Hazel celebrates her 5 month birthday.
> 
> (Please read the notes at the end!)

Nicole rolled over to her left and stared at her phone. The clock read 2:30 in the morning. Ever since she read the letter her brother left her, she found that she couldn't sleep. All she could think about was her brother and how she desperately wanted him to call. She wanted to hear her brother's voice and know that he was ok. 

She couldn't fight the urge to leave her phone alone, and she ended up reaching over and grabbing her phone, knowing there wouldn't be anything on there, but she had to check just to make sure. She turned on her phone and was met with a very bright light that made immediately close her eyes. When she opened her eyes she was met with no notifications, just her lock screen with her, Waverly, and Hazel, the day they went on that hike to their spot. 

She sighed and turned her phone back off and put it back on the nightstand. She slumped back down and pulled the covers over shoulders. It's not like she wanted to stay up worrying and waiting for him to call. She wanted to get some sleep, but it just wasn't happening. Her mind was a hamster wheel that wasn't planning on stopping anything soon. 

She rolled back onto her back and knew she was in for another restless and sleepless night. 

***

Nicole opened her eyes and saw that it was 6:47 in the morning. She rolled over and looked at Waverly, and she wasn't even awake. This was the cycle that she had been trapped in for the past four days. Falls asleep around 3 in the morning and wake up before 7. She had never experienced this bad of insomnia since she was in college worrying about her schoolwork. It was awful and was starting to really wear on Nicole.

She sighed and knew she wouldn't be able to fall back asleep, so she got up and decided to check on Hazel; ho was also peacefully sleeping in her crib. She decided that it was probably a good time to get some work done, pay the bills and finish some paperwork. It was quiet and peaceful; she knew that it probably wouldn't last long. 

She headed downstairs and made a pot of coffee. A  _big_ pot of extra strong coffee, they had a busy day, and she needed all the energy she could get. She grabbed her mug that read "Purgatory's Finest" that was encircled in a sheriff badge. Waverly got it for her when she made sheriff; her wife loved getting small little gifts like that. 

"I hope there isn't too much paperwork," Nicole said, sitting at her office desk, which across the hall from the laundry room. It was quiet and somewhat secluded over there, so it was the perfect spot for an office. She smiled at the picture of her, Waverly, and Hazel. That picture was taken a few hours after she was born, you could tell Waverly was exhausted. She insisted that she looked ugly in that photo and to delete it, but Nicole thought she looked extra beautiful and kept it. She said it was Waverly's post-baby glow she called it. 

She opened up her laptop and grabbed a big file of papers from her drawer and got started on her work. She got a solid 2 hours of paperwork done before Waverly and Hazel woke up. 

Waverly came quietly into her office, holding Hazel who was sucking intently on her thumb. She gently placed her hand on her shoulder and let it run across her back to her other side. 

"Morning, baby," she said, leaning down and kissing her on the cheek. 

"Morning," she said, leaning into the kiss. 

"Someone wanted to say good morning to their other mommy," Waverly said, handing Nicole Hazel, who was reaching her arms out to Nicole. 

Nicole smiled and put her pen down, gladly taking her precious baby in her arms. She kissed her on the cheek and smiled at her, Hazel happily smiled back and cooed. 

"How long have you been up?" Waverly asked, sticking her hand out and leaning against the desk and crossing her arms. 

"Since a quarter of 7," she said quietly, letting Hazel play with her finger. 

Waverly sighed and sat at the edge of her desk. "Baby," she said, getting ready to talk to Nicole about her sleeping situation. 

"I know, I know," she said, swirling her chair around to face her wife better. "I know it's bad. But I don't know what to do, Waverly. I literally cannot fall asleep or stay asleep for more than 2 hours. No matter how hard I try." 

Waverly looked at her, and her shoulders and eyes dropped. She hated seeing her wife so distracted and tired. She knew the only thing on Nicole's mind was her brother. 

"I hate seeing you like this. I haven't seen you so broken. It breaks my heart, Nicole." Her voice faltered, and she could feel a lump forming in her throat. But she managed to hold back her tears.

Nicole sighed, she hated when her wife was upset, she hated it even more when she was the one that upset her. "I'm sorry, Waves. I don't want this to upset you, please. I don't like seeing you upset any more than you like seeing me upset." She rolled the chair over to Waverly, rolling in between her legs and placing her hand on her thigh. "I'm fine, don't worry about me, please." 

Waverly rolled her eyes and uncrossed her arms. "I'm your wife, Nicole  _and_ a mother. It's my job to worry about you both!" she said, throwing her arms up in the air in frustration. 

Nicole sighed and gently rubbed Waverly's thigh, trying to calm her down. 

"I know baby, I know," she said quietly, so quiet it was almost a whisper. "I promise you; I'm fine. I'm going anywhere, I'm here, and I stay. You're not going to lose me."

Waverly didn't look at her; she just stared out the window. "I'm going to start breakfast," she said, getting up and leaving Nicole's hand to flop down from her leg. "Hazel needs a diaper change," she said with a plain-spoken manner.

Nicole closed her eyes in frustration, "Yeah, I got it." She really didn't like whenever she left things unresolved, especially with her wife. But she decided to put that out of her mind and focus on her daughter who was smiled up at her and was flailing her arms up and down in excitement. 

"Excited to get a new diaper on?" Nicole asked, getting up from her office chair. She went into the laundry room and placed her on top of the washer. She took a diaper, and some baby wipes down. She carefully changed Hazel, making sure not to get anything on herself or her clothes. Once she got the diaper on, Hazel started to kick her legs up and down, and she shoved her hand into her mouth. Now that she was getting older she was beginning to be a lot more vocal and move around a lot more. Though she couldn't walk or crawl yet, that didn't stop her from throwing her arms and hands all over the place. 

Nicole held Hazel in her arms, while she went through some more emails and more paperwork. She got another 15 minutes of work done before Waverly called them for breakfast.

She walked out to find Waverly setting the table; it smelled like waffles and eggs. Waffles were one of Nicole's favorites. 

"Waffles? Haven't had those in a while," Nicole said, strapping Hazel in her high chair. 

"Just thought I'd do something different. I was getting tired of avocado toast and oatmeal," she said, setting a big plate of waffles on the table. 

"Well, I'm certainly not opposed to that." Once Hazel was situated in her high chair, Nicole went over and grabbed the syrup and butter, helping set the table. 

"I made some scrambled eggs for Haze. I thought she could try something new, she's liked almost everything we've given her so far, so I'm hoping she'll like eggs," she said, setting two mugs and a pot of coffee down. She sat down next to Nicole's chair, grabbing the plate of eggs and a soft baby spoon. 

Nicole sat next to her, not touching her breakfast yet, wanting to see Hazel's reaction to eggs. She scootched her chair closer so that she was next to Waverly. 

"You've never had these before, sweetie," Waverly said, taking a tiny spoonful. She lifted it to Hazel's mouth, and Hazel immediately turned away, refusing to eat the new and weird yellow food sitting in front of her. 

"No, see, it's good," Waverly said, shoving the spoon in Nicole's face. "Mommy loves them!"

Nicole took her signal and ate the eggs off the spoon, knowing her vegan wife wouldn't dare eat them herself. 

"Mm, good," Nicole said with a mouthful of eggs. She smiled, showing Hazel they were food and were good to eat. Hazel was unsure, she just stared at them for a minute, considering whether to try them or not. She decided that she was hungry so she opened her mouth, giving in and trying the new food. 

"Wanna try?" Waverly said, slowly putting the spoon in her mouth. She let Hazel try and take all the eggs off the spoon. She ate the eggs and started chewing, both Waverly and Nicole watching her, waiting to see her reaction. 

Hazel was unsure at first but swallowed and opened her mouth for more. She didn't think this new food was that bad. 

"You like them?" Waverly said with a smile, getting another spoonful. She gently placed the spoon in her mouth, which Hazel took without any hesitation. In fact, she smiled and hit the tray with her hands wanting more. 

"I guess you do like them," Nicole said with a laugh. She gently rubbed Waverly's back, knowing she was tense and hoping it would make her feel better. Despite her situation with her brother, she was pretty content. Watching her wife feed their growing daughter, seeing her laugh and enjoy the new food she was being given. 

"Here, I got it, you eat. I'm not that hungry," Nicole said, taking the spoon and plate from Waverly. 

Waverly smiled and kissed her cheek, before getting up and making her way to the seat across from Nicole. "You know I love waffles," she said, grabbing two big ones and pouring a heaping amount of syrup. 

"Careful, baby. That's a lot of sugar there," Nicole said with a smirk, feeding Hazel more eggs. 

"Hey," she said, with a mouth full of waffle. "I'm rewarding myself; I went to the gym!"

Nicole chuckled while she fed Hazel another spoonful. "Babe, you went once! And it was only an hour workout, and they weren't even hard sets!"

Waverly laughed, covering her mouth, not wanting to show they mashed up waffles in her mouth. She let herself swallow before continuing,"It was pretty hard," she said, cutting up her waffle more.

"You gotta come to the gym with me more often," Nicole said, giving Hazel one last spoonful before turning toward her breakfast. She also grabbed two big waffles and threw them on her plate. 

"I think I'll pass," Waverly said, taking another bite of her waffle. 

"Alright," Nicole said, pouring some syrup over her waffles. "Don't come crying to me when you can't get rid of those love handles," she said with a smirk. 

"Hey!" Waverly said with a smile. "I'll have you know I love my perfect  _non- existent_ love handles!" she said, holding up her tiny, yet very muscular arms. Waverly started laughing while she got up and cleared her plate. 

Nicole laughed while she grabbed her fork and knife," You're adorable." 

Waverly blushed while she put her plate in the sink. She walked back over and wrapped her arms around Nicole's shoulders and placed a kiss on her temple. "Turns out I'm not that hungry either. I'll give Hazel a bath, and you enjoy your breakfast," she said, breaking the embrace and getting Hazel out of her high chair. She was a mess, and there were eggs everywhere. 

"And you  _will_ be eating something, right?" Waverly said, giving her wife a stern look.

"I will. Thank you, baby," she said with a mouth full of waffle. She smiled as Waverly and Hazel headed upstairs. While she was eating, her mind couldn't help but wonder if she got a call from her brother. She grabbed her phone from her pocket and turned it on, to see no notifications. Except for a text from Wynonna saying they'll be there around 11.

They had planned a little girls day while Doc and the others went out having their time to themselves. Well, Waverly actually planned the whole thing. She wanted to celebrate Hazel's 5th month birthday, so she planned on it just being them and Wynonna and then the entire family over for dinner afterward. And once Waverly is set on doing something, there's no point in stopping her. 

Nicole sighed and set her phone back down on the table. Suddenly, she wasn't so hungry. She knew Waverly wouldn't be happy with her considering she only had a few bites, so she forced herself to eat a little more. 

After a few more bites, she decided that she was full, so she cleared her plate and the table. She got halfway through the dishes before she heard Waverly call her name. 

"Nicole! Get up here!" Waverly yelled from upstairs.

The tone in her voice worried Nicole, and she immediately stopped what she was doing and sprinted up the stairs. 

"Waverly?! What's wrong? Is Hazel ok?!" she said, running down towards the nursery. 

Instead of seeing something going horribly wrong, she saw Hazel on her stomach; butt naked. And Waverly, smiling with her eyes tearing up. 

"What? Baby what is it?" she said, quickly picking up a naked Hazel, looking all over to make sure everything was still intact. Once she saw everything was ok, she moved the diaper and baby wipes and sat next to Waverly, who was trying to hold back her tears.

"Waverly," she said quietly, gently placed her hand on her thigh. 

"She rolled over," Waverly said with a huge smile. "Nicole, she rolled over. Like, full on back to stomach. I set her down, on her back, and turned away for a quick second to grab the baby wipes. I turn around and there she is, on her stomach." Ever since Hazel was born, Waverly found herself being more emotional. Especially when it came to their daughter. 

A huge smile ran across Nicole's face, and she looked down at her little one in her arms. She couldn't believe how fast she was growing. 

"Hazel, you rolled over?!" she said with excitement. Hazel responded by smiling back and babbling, throwing her arms up and down in the air. "Our little girl rolled over." Nicole sat there at their growing daughter. 

"We're getting old," Nicole said bluntly. 

Waverly laughed and patted her wife's thigh. "Yeah, but we'll look hot when we're old." 

Nicole laughed and kissed Waverly's temple. "I can't believe it's already been five months. It feels like just yesterday we were bringing her home."

Waverly looked at their daughter, who still didn't have anything on, not even a diaper. "Let's have another," she blurted out without even thinking. 

Nicole looked up at Waverly and was taken aback; she raised her eyebrows at her wife's statement. "Another? We just had Hazel, five months ago," she said in confusion. Of course, she wanted to have more kids with Waverly, but it was way too soon. They had their hands full enough with just one baby and imagining two right now was enough to send Nicole into a panic.

"I mean when she's older. Let's have more kids Nicole," Waverly said, smiling at Nicole with her big and beautiful hazel brown eyes. "Every time I see you with Hazel it makes my heart melt. I love you and want to have more with you. I imagine us in this home, old, our four kids, and 20 grandkids." 

Nicole laughed and looked at her wife, "20 grandkids, huh? We're definitely going to have our hands full." 

"We'll be good grandparents. We'll spoil them rotten and give them candy even when we're told not to. We'll bring them to parks and museums," Waverly said. She was beaming and the smile on her face was huge, Nicole loved whenever Waverly talked about their future, it was like she was on Cloud Nine. 

Nicole flashed her dimples and intertwined Waverly's hand in her own. "Baby, I would _love_ to have more kids with you. Would you want to give birth again?"

Waverly looked down and sighed. She and Nicole had so much trouble starting a family. Every miscarriage took a piece of Waverly and split her heart down the middle and she wasn't sure if she could go through that again. 

"I don't know. After everything we went through to make this beautiful little girl," she said, reaching her hand on stroking Hazel's cheek, which caused her to smile. "It was just so, _so_ hard. I don't know if I could do that again," she said, her voice cracking. She could feel tears forming in her eyes, but she managed to keep it together. 

"I know, baby. I know it wasn't easy, you don't have to. There are plenty of other ways we can have more; we'll find our way, don't worry," she said, kissing the top of Waverly's hand. 

Waverly loved waking up next to Nicole. She couldn't believe the life that she was living. When she was little, she knew she wanted a family, and she promised herself that she would never let her kids live the life that she lived. She would never leave and always find a way to work things out. She'd be an active parent; driving them to games, going to their school concerts, pack their lunch, tuck them in at night. She was going to give them everything that she never had. She was going to be the best parent that she could be. 

"What do you think, Hazey?" Nicole said, putting Hazel back down on the floor. "Would you want a brother or sister?" 

Hazel smiled and screamed, something she did often now that she was finding her voice. She kicked her legs up and down in excitement while Nicole got ready to change her. She grabbed the clean diaper and put it on her, putting it on tightly but still making sure she was gentle. 

"Waverly," Nicole said, getting up and getting a pink unicorn onesie from the drawer. "I know I say this all the time, but I love you. I'm so incredibly grateful for you and Hazel. And she looks just like you, hazel eyes, your cute little nose, and she has your smile. Thank you for carrying our daughter. Without you, we wouldn't have our beautiful family. You're my superhero, baby." 

Waverly smiled and took the onesie from Nicole and gently pulled it over Hazel's head, messing up her soft and short copper hair. She was blushing and could feel herself getting red. 

"No need for thank you's. If anything I should be thanking you, for being by my side, through all of it. My morning sickness, my mood swings, my cravings. Everything. You're my rock baby," she said, buttoning the last button on Hazel's outfit and picking her up, giving her a soft kiss on her cheek. 

"Hazel loves you so much," Waverly said, getting up and walking over to her wife. "I can see that; you're an amazing mom. I know all our future kids will love you just as much as I do," she said, leaning and placing a kiss on Nicole's lips. 

Nicole smiled and cupped Waverly's face in her hands, gently pulling her upwards and forcing her onto her tippy toes. 

Now that Hazel was starting to understand who everyone was, she started to like attention. So her moms kissing make her jealous and she started crying. Her face became red and tears fell from her eyes. 

Waverly pulled away and laughed, bouncing her up and down, trying to calm her down. 

"Well, I think we know who she gets her jealousy from," Nicole said smirking, wrapping her arm around Waverly's waist.

Waverly rolled her eyes and smiled, "I like to think of it as,  _protectiveness._ No one is allowed to hit on you but me," she said, giving Hazel her pacifier. 

Nicole smiled and gently took Hazel from Waverly's arms and placed her in the crib. Nicole thought she should get an early nap since they both had early mornings. 

"Waves, my eyes are only on you," she said, leaning down and giving Hazel one last kiss before turning to her wife. She pulled her closer and slipped her hand up Waverly's shirt. "You know that."

"I do," Waverly said, pulling Nicole closer and giving her a hug, resting her head on her chest.

"I need to shower, care to join?" she asked, rubbing her back and pulling away, giving her a big smile.

"I'd love to," Waverly said grinning. Nicole's smile always gave her butterflies, no matter how long they'd been together. 

"Although, I do love these boxers on you," she said, tugging on her dark navy boxers with white anchors. 

Nicole placed a kiss on Waverly's forehead and grabbed the baby monitor. "Let's go, Mrs. Earp. I don't want our daughter to see what I'm about to do to you." 

***

"Do you have anything planned for today, Waves?" Nicole said, walking over and helping Waverly take off her necklace.

"I thought we could go on a little hike," Waverly said, taking her earrings out. "It's just outside of town. Jeremy actually introduced it to me. It's short and easy, no big hills or anything, so it'll be easy for Alice and not that tiring, especially since we'll have Hazel with us." 

Nicole raised an eyebrow, Waverly was usually one to decorate and bake things when it came to guests coming over. Especially if they were celebrating something, so this was different coming from Waverly. 

She never really thought much of 'month-a-versaries.' She never thought it was something to celebrate, not until she met Waverly. Her wife jumped at any chance to celebrate, or throw a party, or decorate. Normally they just went out to eat and went for a walk in the park or something simple afterward. But this month Waverly wanted to do something different, especially since she was going on 6 months in four weeks. 

"A hike? Really? You don't want to like," Nicole asked, pausing, trying to find the right words. 

"What, bake a cake and put up some decorations?" Waverly mocked. 

"Um, maybe?" Nicole said, giving her a sheepish smile. 

Waverly rolled her eyes playfully and flopped onto the bed, "Sorry to disappoint," she said with a smile. "And besides, I think we should get out, enjoy nature, get some exercise in." 

"Well, you're not wrong. We haven't been out of the house lately. And Hazel needs to get out more; I don't want her to be those kids obsessed with electronics. I want her to be obsessed with nature, and healthy eating,  _and_ exercise. Our kid is going to be super athletic," Nicole said sternly while putting her sneakers on. 

Waverly sat up and tried to contain her laughter. She loved when Nicole talked about the future for their family, but sometimes it was pretty funny.

"What?" Nicole said, getting up and laying down right next to Waverly. "I just want my kid to be healthy and not obsessed with video games and TV. A tomboy." Nicole was a huge jock when she was a kid. Super into basketball, very competitive, and not into barbies. 

Waverly smiled and took her wife's hand in her own and gently kissed it, laying back down. "Don't worry. I can tell our little girl is going to be a jock like her momma. She's already got your fiery red hair. Our next kid will be the complete opposite, maybe super nerdy, like me. Or into the arts, like music or theater. Definitely more of the quiet type, but not afraid to hold his or her own," she said, staring up at the wall, fantasizing about their future and growing family. In the midst of her daydream, she didn't even realize Nicole staring at her with her big, brown, loving eyes and a huge smile across her face.

"What?" Waverly asked, craning her head and looking at her wife. "Is there something in my teeth? God, I know you think that's funny, but it's super embarrassing," she said, getting up and rushing to the mirror, making sure there wasn't a huge piece of broccoli or something between her teeth. 

Nicole laughed and sat up, propping herself up on her elbows. Her wife was such a dork, but she was _her_  dork, and she thanked God every night for the women she fell more and more in love with every day. 

"No, baby. There's nothing in your teeth, not some pepper bits  _or_ spinach," Nicole mocked, reminiscing the time she took Waverly out to this vegan restaurant.

Waverly had ordered a huge salad with peppercorn dressing. Nicole had made her laugh, which showed this huge piece of peppercorn on her bottom tooth and spinach right between her top tooth. Waverly was extremely embarrassed, but Nicole reassured her that she thought it was cute and told her there was nothing to be embarrassed about. 

"Hey! In my defense, it was an excellent salad, and I had no idea how messy it would be," Waverly said, checking her teeth one last time before coming back and laying right back down next to Nicole. Wynonna and Alice were supposed to be here any minute, but Waverly didn't care. She was just happy to be spending a little alone time with her lovely wife. Ever since Hazel was born, their alone time grew shorter and shorter. 

"It's just, whenever you talk about the future or our family. You're eyes light up, and there's a little wrinkle in your eyes. And you get this smile, it's just- I don't really know how to explain it. It's an expression I only see come across your face when you talk about our family. It's this sweet little smile that makes my stomach flutter," Nicole said, adjusting herself, so she was on top of Waverly, legs intertwined in hers and only a few centimeters of space between them.

Nicole smiled and moved a strand of hair and tucked it behind Waverly's ear. She didn't think it was possible to be this in love with someone, someone who made her the happiest she's ever been. 

"Keep talking like that, and you're going to get yourself laid," Waverly said with a smirk. She leaned in hungrily kissed Nicole, grabbing a fistful of her shirt and pulling her closer.

Nicole returned the favor and snaked her hand up Waverly's shirt, playing with her boobs. Nicole loved everything about Waverly, her body and her mind; she wouldn't change a single thing. But her perky boobs were a bonus.

Waverly giggle and wrapped her arms around Nicole's neck. Deepening the kiss and grabbing a fistful of Nicole's hair. Nicole smelled extra like vanilla dipped donuts, the intoxicating scent left Waverly wanting more, she knew it wasn't a good idea considering they were expecting company soon. But in the moment, she didn't care, she ripped Nicole's shirt off, raking her hands up and down her back. 

Waverly broke the kiss so Nicole could take her shirt off. They both moved in synchronization, considering it wasn't their first time ripping each other's clothes off, it was safe to say they were experts. 

"Cutting it close here, baby," Nicole said, taking off Waverly's bottoms so that she was now completely naked. 

"I know," Waverly said without hesitation, reaching up and took off Nicole's bra. 

Nicole broke the kiss and left a trail of kisses down Waverly's stomach, kissing her thighs and teasing her. Waverly was quietly moaning, "Nicole, please," she begged. It had been a while since they had sex, both of them very busy with Black Badge and busy with Hazel. They both desperately needed some time alone together. 

Nicole smirked and went back up and kissed Waverly, teasing her even harder. They were so wrapped up in the moment, they didn't hear Wynonna come in. 

"Yo, are we gonna get this show on the road or what?" Wynonna said, barging into their bedroom, not even bothering to knock. 

Waverly turned her head, so she wasn't facing Wynonna and Nicole sighed and looked down in disappointment. Of course, her sister-in-law always had to be the one to interrupt them. 

"Oh my God," Wynonna said, shielding her eyes with her hand. "Wow, deciding Hazel's five-month birthday was a good day for sexy time, huh?" she said, putting her hand back down and smirking at her sister. 

"Oh my, Wynonna?! Get out!" Waverly yelled, throwing a pillow at the door. "When will you ever learn to knock!?"

Wynonna dodged the pillow and opened the door a little more, laughing at her sister and sister-in-law. 

"Probably never, but getting you're guys' reaction is pretty amusing," Wynonna said, shoving her hands in her pocket and grinning at them. At this point, she wasn't even phased by this situation. After it happens enough times you get used to it.

"Auntie Waves, Auntie Cole!!" Alice said, her feet stomping up the stairs. 

"Erm, ok," Wynonna said, quickly shutting the door so her daughter wouldn't be scarred for life.

"C'mon kid," she said through the door. "Let's go see if they have chocolate milk, ok?" 

"Why?" Alice whined all she wanted to do was see her aunties. "I wanna see Aunties!" 

"They're... busy. They'll be down shortly," Wynonna said, their voices getting quieter and quieter as they walked down the stairs. 

Nicole sighed and flopped herself right next to Waverly. They both lay there, staring at the ceiling.

Waverly ran her fingers through her hair in embarrassment. "Well," she said, slightly annoyed and slightly embarrassed. "I swear, she someone manages to interrupt us every time I freakin' touch you," she said in frustration. 

Nicole chuckled and gently taking Waverly's hand in her own, "Take a breath baby. We'll find the time, don't worry."

Nicole let go of Waverly's hand and got out of bed, the only thing on her were boxers. Waverly sat up couldn't help but stare at her wife's abs and defined V. She loved how athletic and strong her wife was. She thought it was incredibly sexy.

"Well, now I don't want to do anything but lay in bed and have sex with you," Waverly said, making her little pouty face, which Nicole adored. 

"I know, me too, baby," Nicole said, throwing on her shirt and sitting next to Waverly. She reached up and gently ran her fingers through her soft brown hair. She gave her an encouraging smile which was telling her she could get through the day. 

"Hey! Lovebirds! Hurry up! We got places to be and things to do, We don't have all day!" Wynonna yelled from the bottom of the stairs. But to Waverly and Nicole, it was nothing but a muffled sentence, but threatening nonetheless. 

Waverly rolled her eyes and got out of bed, grabbing her bra and putting her clothes back on. She sighed as she grabbed her hairbrush and started to brush her now messed up hair. As much as she loved her sister and her daughter, she really regrets deciding to do something today. Now she was in the mood to have sex with her wife and nothing else. 

She suddenly felt two strong but soft hands on her shoulders and a soft kiss pressed to her cheek. She smiled as she immediately felt more relaxed, every little touch by her wife made her stomach lurch. 

"Don't worry about it, ok? We're going to have a lot of fun today, and we're going to celebrate our little girl's 5 month birthday. It's going to be great, sex or no sex," she said, leaving one last kiss on her temple before going to throw her hair up back into a ponytail. 

"How do you always know what to say to make me feel better?" she said, crossing her arms and pouting. It was annoying how her wife managed to find the right words, but she loved it, annoying and all. 

"I know you Waves," she said, walking over to her wife. "I know my wife pretty well." She smiled and grabbed her hand, leading them both out of the bathroom and down the stairs. 

"Finally. Didn't think it took that long to finish," she said with a smirk. 

"Aunties!!" Alice said, running towards Nicole and Waverly and jumping into their arms. 

Waverly and Nicole smiled and knelt down and prepared for Alice, who was charging at them in full speed. She jumped into her aunties arms and gave the biggest hug her 3-year-old body could muster.  

"Hi, sweetie!" Waverly said, giving her niece a kiss on the forehead. 

Nicole smiled and also gave her a kiss on the temple. "What's going on, baby?"

"Mommy said we're going on a hike!" she said, jumping up and down in excitement. "I brought a special backpack for it!" Alice ran over to the couch where she dropped her backpack and grabbed the pink strap and ran back to her Aunties, dragging it along the floor. 

"See?!" she said, proudly holding it up as best as her little arms would let her. 

"Wow, you even picked out a unicorn one!" Waverly said, gently running her hands through her niece's soft brown hair. She couldn't help but giggle, everyone understood the unicorn joke, but Alice just thought it was all their favorite animal. 

"I 'specially thought of Auntie Nicole," she said, unzipping her backpack to show her Aunties what Wynonna had packed. 

Nicole could feel herself getting redder and the laughing between her wife and sister in law continued. She wasn't normally one who was easily embarrassed, but in this situation, it was safe to say she wished she was anywhere else at the moment. 

"I've taught you well," Wynonna said, kneeling next to Alice and helping her take her things out of her backpack. She pulled out a lunchbox, some extra clothes, crayons and a coloring book, her iPad, and some preschool homework. 

"Mommy said we're going to be here for most of the day and let me bring my iPad, see?" she said, pulling out of her iPad and holding it up for everyone to see. 

"Alice, aren't you forgetting something?" Wynonna asked, darting her eyes to the backpack, hoping her 3-year-old would catch her hint. 

"Oh yeah!" she said, digging through her backpack. A few seconds later she pulled out a bit wrinkly drawing, plastered with various colors and shapes. 

"Look! It's you and Auntie Wave, me, mommy, and C'amty!" she said climbing in Nicole's arms and sitting on her knees. "I know C'almty isn't here but just because we can't see her doesn't mean she's not here!" she said, wrapping her tiny arms around Nicole's arm. 

Their beloved cat Calamity Jane had passed away a year after Nicole and Waverly got married. It was a sad day but Nicole knew it was her time, so it wasn't anything out of the blue. 

Waverly watched keenly with a huge smile on her face. She loved watching her wife interact with Alice. It was absolutely adorable and she couldn't wait until Hazel was her age and it would be her and Nicole instead of Nicole and Alice, even though they were adorable to watch. 

"That's beautiful, sweetie," she said, moving her niece's soft brown hair from her eyes. "I know Calamity would love it, too," she said, standing up, swooping up a tiny Alice up in her arms. 

"Here Auntie Cole!" she said, shoving her drawing in Nicole's face. "It's for you and Auntie Wave to keep! I even signed my name, see?" she said, pointing to the rather large scribble at the right corner of her drawing. 

Nicole smiled and gladly took the drawing from her niece, "Thank you, baby. We love it," she said, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead. "Why don't we go hang it up on the fridge," she said, walking over to their fridge. She grabbed a little 'Purgatory' magnet and stuck Alice's drawing right in the middle of the fridge so it stuck out. 

"My little artist," she said with a genuine smile. She loved her little niece with her whole heart, she knew her daughter and her niece would be best friends, no matter how many fights they got in to. 

Nicole gave her one last kiss on the forehead before setting her down, letting her run back to her backpack. 

"Where's Hazel?" Wynonna asked, helping Alice pack everything back into her backpack. She placed her iPad on the counter, causing a reaction from her 3-year-old.

"No! I thought you said I could keep the iPad for the day!" Alice whined, her face turning from a smile to a pout. 

"You can, but we don't want to bring it on the hike with us. It could get ruined, so it's staying here," Wynonna said, handing Alice her packed backpack. 

"Oh, ok!" Alice said, taking her backpack and running off to the toy bin next to the TV. 

Waverly laughed at her stubborn little niece, she sure was like her momma. "Hazel-" she started, getting interrupted baby monitor going off with loud cries from Hazel's nursery. "Is up from her nap," Waverly said, grabbing the monitor and turning it off. "I'll be back," she said, heading for the stairs to tend to her crying daughter. 

"Well Haughtstuff," Wynonna said, taking a seat at the counter. "What's up with this hike? I thought you guys just like, kept in lowkey for her monthly birthdays." 

Nicole closed the closet behind her, pulling out two Northface backpacks, something they used often when they went out. "I don't know. She said she wants to get out more. I guess she's getting bored of staying in." 

Wynonna pursed her lips and shook her head. She looked around in confusion, wondering if Nicole's parents were still around. 

"You're parents still here?" she asked, folding her arms on the counter. "No offense, Haught. But they're kinda a huge bag of dicks, I think having shitty parents is the one thing we have in common."

Nicole rolled her eyes and smiled, packing baby wipes and diapers. "They left a yesterday morning. We made up at the funeral," she said, gently placing granola bars in her backpack, making sure they don't get crushed or spilled. 

"If Waverly wasn't so stubborn I probably wouldn't have gone. She kept telling I should go and I'm really glad I listened," she said, grabbing a few bottles of formula from the fridge. "But yeah, they apologized, my whole family apologized. Everyone said they loved me and to keep in touch, they met Waverly, which by the way; everyone loved her. I don't know how she does it, she could get the devil on her good side." 

Wynonna chuckled as she pulled out her phone, "Well, she wasn't voted the nicest person in Purgatory and won a sash for it for no reason." 

"But yeah, everything, went, um, fine," she said, getting quieter at the end of her sentence. Her demeanor changing from cheerful to heavy-hearted. 

Wynonna furrowed her brows, she knew something was up and was going to try to get it out of Nicole. "What? Did something not go well? What did your mom say you weren't qualified to be sheriff?" she said, hoping to get a laugh out of a rather sullen Nicole. 

"No, everything went fine," Nicole said, throwing her backpack on, forcing a smile and trying to be cheery as possible. 

"Ok, Hazel is ready," Waverly said coming down the stairs. She dressed Hazel in the most adorable outfit. Waverly dressed her in some dark navy joggers, what looked like her little fox t-shirt, a little yellow raincoat, and little black booties. 

Nicole's heart just about burst at the sight. When they found out Waverly was pregnant, they had decided early on that Waverly would mainly be in charge of her outfits. Nicole wasn't as much as a fashionista as her wife, so it was probably a good idea that Waverly was in charge of clothing. Nicole knew that she would end up dressing her daughter in clothing that didn't go together. She was planning on embarrassing her daughter but not at such an early age. 

"Look at you, baby!" Nicole said, taking Hazel in her arms. Hazel was smiling and had her hand in her mouth, she was still teething so lately she was chewing on everything, from her teething toys to her own hands, or even Nicole's or Waverly's. No teeth have come up yet but Hazel's gums were pretty sore, so there were some sleepless nights here and there. 

"Mommy dressed you in an adorable outfit," Nicole said, nuzzling her nose in Hazel's cheek, breathing in her addicting baby smell. 

"She didn't get much of a nap in, only about a half an hour," Waverly said, throwing her hair into a ponytail. She gave Nicole's arm a gentle squeeze before walking over to her sister, who was staring at them, watching their whole interaction. 

"Why does your face look like that?" she asked, grabbing a water bottle from the cabinet and turning on the sink. Her sister had a very puzzled yet conflicted look on her face. 

"Somethings up with Nicole," Wynonna said, still looking at Nicole and squinting her eyes in suspicion. "She's not telling me something." 

Waverly rolled her eyes and shot her sister a glare. "Wynonna?! What did you ask her?" 

Wynonna looked at her sister and held up her hands in defense. "What? I just asked her what was going on with her parents. Then she got all upset and I asked her what's wrong. I didn't  _do_ anything." 

Waverly sighed while she screwed on her water bottle top. She watched her wife who was playing with Hazel and Alice, anyone who didn't know Nicole would think she was just fine. But Waverly  _and_ Wynonna both knew something was up.

As much as Waverly wanted to talk, she decided she needed to be with her family, celebrating their little girls day. So, she put a smile on her face and walked over to her girls, wanting to get this day started.

"Let's go, ladies, we've got a lot to do today," she said with a smile, squatting down and gently rubbing her wife's back. Nicole was holding Hazel in one hand who was playing with toy ring and Alice, who was playing with a set of legos. 

Nicole looked up and smiled at her wife, she handed her Hazel so she could help Alice clean up the mess they made. "C'mon sweetie. Let's clean up this mess so we can go on this hike," she said, grabbing all the legos she could fit in one hand. 

Waverly took little Hazel in her hand and gently took the toy from her mouth and placing it on the table. She grabbed her pacifier that was sitting on her high chair, hoping that would appease her considering the fact she just took away her toy. 

Nicole and Alice put the legos back in their box, Waverly grabbed her backpack, mainly filled with baby stuff, extra clothes, some baby food, snacks, wipes, diapers, everything really. 

"C'mon kid, let's go get you in your car seat," Wynonna said, opening the door for Alice. She grabbed her backpack and happily ran out of the door to the car, Wynonna slowly following behind. 

Waverly sighed and gave Nicole a half-hearted smile, who came over and placed a gentle kiss on her head, pulling both Waverly and Hazel into a hug. 

"You ok, baby?" Nicole asked, pulling away and looking deeply into her loves eyes.

"I'm fine. Are _you_ ok?" Waverly asked, returning the favor and also looking deep into Nicole's big brown eyes, eyes that she got lost in every day. 

"I'm good, this is going to be fun," Nicole said, trying her best to be positive, even though she knew that the only thing they both wanted to do was stay in bed, cuddle, and have sex. 

"Sex is fun, too," Waverly mumbled, pulling away and heading for the door. 

Nicole laughed and followed her wife out of the door. "Hey! Baby on board," she said, gesturing to the 5-month-old, sucking on her pacifier in Waverly's arms. "But, I agree," she said behind Waverly. 

Waverly couldn't help but smile and reached back for Nicole's hand, which Nicole happily accepted and intertwined their fingers together while they walked to their car. 

They reached their car to find Alice completely out in her car seat, Wynonna next to her in the middle on her phone, and Hazel's empty car seat on the right. Alice was very much like Doc, especially in the way they both showed their love for their family, their generosity, and they're big hearts. And that was only the tip of the iceberg. But despite Alice being like her father, she was very much like her mother, too. Alice could sleep anywhere and pass out in a matter of minutes. 

"Shh," Nicole said, bringing her fingers to her lips and darting her eyes to a sleeping Alice. 

Waverly nodded her head and smiled, making sure she was extra quiet while she was getting Hazel in her car seat. Both Nicole and Waverly were both hoping that Hazel would get a small nap in on their way to their hiking spot. 

Their new hike spot was even farther than Nicole and Waverly's spot. It was almost an hour out of town, Waverly wasn't kidding when she said she wanted to get out more, she wanted to get  _way_ out. Nicole was very much confused at first to where they were going, she knew it was out of town but with the way Waverly was taking them was a bit odd. And they couldn't use the GPS but it was literally a random trail in the middle of nowhere. So Waverly had to orally direct them, having Nicole take turns that took them literally to the middle of nowhere.

They got there around noon and it took almost an hour to get there. Everyone was asleep in the back, Alice, Hazel, even Wynonna. Waverly hated to wake the little ones, they were so peaceful and she knew they needed all the sleep they could get. But she wanted to get through the day and spend time with her family, so inevitably she had to wake them. 

"Guys, we're here," Waverly said quietly. She unbuckled her seat belt and got out of the car, hoping the sound of the car door slamming shut would wake them. It woke Alice and Wynonna up, but not Hazel. 

Waverly sighed as she opened Hazel's door. She slowly unbuckled her car seat, trying not to wake her daughter. She gently wrapped her arms around her and picked her up, Hazel stirred a bit, but succumbed to her lack of sleep from her short nap from earlier and fell right back asleep in Waverly's arms, laying her head on her momma's chest. 

"Nicole, can you get the carrier for me?" Waverly said quietly. 

"Yeah," she said, getting their backpacks from the trunk, but leaving Alice's. A hyper 3-year-old on a hike, running around, with a backpack bigger than her- a recipe for a disaster. She threw her backpack on and grabbed the carrier and looked up at her wife and daughter. She smiled at Waverly who was holding Hazel tight to her, gently caressing her forehead, playing with the wisp of red hair on her head.

"Here, baby. I'll take her while you get that setup," she said, gently taking Hazel who was unfazed by all the moving around in her momma's arms. Nicole walked back to the trunk and grabbed out Waverly's backpack and set it beside her feet while she still set up her carrier. 

"Alice come check this out," Wynonna said, setting her down on the ground and closing the door. She took her daughter's hand in her own and led her towards a lookout point, overlooking the Canadian mountains, filled with bright green from the trees, white snow atop, and grey splotches of rock here and there, which created a beautiful scene, especially with the bright sun shining behind them. 

"Isn't that pretty? We live in a pretty beautiful place sweetie," Wynonna said, picking Alice up and sitting her on the fence so she could see better, but holding on to her tightly, not wanting her to fall. 

"Mommy, what's that white stuff at the top?" Alice asked, pointing to the snow-topped mountains. 

"It's snow," Wynonna said, pulling Alice closer. 

"Why is there only snow on the top?" she asked, her 3-year-old curiosity getting to her. 

"Well it's colder on the top of the mountains, so the snow doesn't melt there," Wynonna said. 

"C'mon you two! We still have to get dinner ready!" Nicole said from the car, waving her hands and motioning them both to come back so they could start hiking.

"Let's go, kid, we got some hiking to do," Wynonna said, setting Alice down on the ground. Wynonna took Alice's hand as they followed Waverly and Nicole on the trail. 

When Jeremy said it was an easy trail, he really meant it was an easy trail. There were almost no hills and the worst thing they had to do was climb over a few rocks or a few tree roots, but even little Alice could handle those. Hazel was out like a light and didn't wake up until they were 20 minutes into the hike, but her mommas didn't mind, they both knew that she needed to sleep.

Despite the easy terrain, they were surrounded by nothing but trees, rocks, dirt, weeds, basically everything you can think of when you're way out of town. It was beautiful, bright green trees, mossy rocks, some flowers growing here and there. They even saw a few streams and ponds from afar. To say they were proud to be Canadian was an understatement, they took pride in their beautiful landscapes and scenery. 

They had no idea where they were going, they just followed the markers and hoped they didn't get lost. Normally Waverly was the one who would freak out over now knowing the area, but this time, it was Nicole. She kept asking if Waverly knew where she was going, or what if they got lost, and maybe they should turn back just in case. But Waverly kept assuring her, telling her it would be ok, and they wouldn't get lost. 

"Ok, I think we have a little bit to go!" Waverly said, moving a tree branch out of the way. 

"You know where we're going?" Wynonna asked, holding the branch out and letting Alice go first, being the last one in line. 

"Not really. Jeremy said once I see a rock that looks like a dog, I'm close to a 'big surprise'," Waverly said, stepping over a big tree root sticking out of the ground. 

"So you know where we've been going this whole time? You let me worry like that for nothing?!" Nicole asked exasperatedly. Out of the two of them, she wasn't normally a worrier. 

"Oh, my poor baby," Waverly teased. "I'm sorry, but I just wanted to surprise you guys. I'm not really sure what we're going to run into because Jeremy didn't tell me, so you're just as clueless as I am. But he did say to bring extra clothes, so I'm assuming it's messy." 

"So you don't have any idea?" Nicole asked, her voice full of worry. "What if it's dangerous, like cliff jumping or something like that?" 

"It's Jeremy, he's scared of knives.  _Butter_ knives. You really think he'd be into cliff jumping?" Wynonna asked sarcastically. 

"Yeah," Nicole mumbled. "Ok, but what if it's like dangerous and has bugs that give you diseases or it's full of moose that attack us. What if we run into bears?" Nicole asked with a very anxious tone. 

Waverly stopped, and stood atop a rock, so she was an inch taller than her wife. She turned around and faced her wife, stopping everyone else behind her. But Alice ran past them both and Wynonna followed, continuing the hike and leaving them behind. "We're going to be fine. Jeremy wouldn't send us to do something dangerous. Especially not with the kids, I specifically asked if it was dangerous and kid-friendly," she said, placing her hands on her wife's shoulders, perfect eye level with Nicole and perfect enough for Hazel to grab her momma's red hair and pull on it. 

Nicole smiled and could feel her self turning red, she was a bit embarrassed by how much she was freaking out. "Ow, Hazel," she said with a chuckle, gently separating her daughter's hand from her hair. 

"You're right. I'm sorry, Wave. I don't know why I'm freaking out so much," Nicole said, looking Waverly into the eyes. She knew she was being irrational and normally she was able to bring herself back to reality. But for some reason, she wasn't able to rationalize their day. She was always the one calming Waverly done, but today, it was the other way around. 

"Don't worry, I'll protect you, my big baby," Waverly said, giving Nicole a kiss on the tip of her nose and turning back around to continue their hike. 

"Damn!" Wynonna said from afar. She and Alice were a bit ahead of them, walking down a hill and were almost out of sight. 

"Wynonna?" Waverly asked, hoping that everything was ok with her sister and niece. "Are you ok?" She started to briskly walk towards her sister, she really wanted to run to make sure they were ok, but she didn't want to run and disturb Hazel. 

Nicole followed behind, for someone who was only 5' 4" her wife did move awfully fast. "Babe, slow down. I'm sure they're fine."

Waverly ignored her wife and in fact sped up, walking faster toward her niece and sister. Nicole struggled to keep up, she wondered how her wife was staying on foot with a baby _and_ a backpack. 

"Oh my, Alice!" Waverly said from down the hill.

Nicole sped up, hoping her niece was ok, but she got closer she heard what sounded like a splash, followed by a high pitched toddler squeal. She approached the top of the hill to find Alice, fully dressed, playing in a shallow, muddy water stream, with a small waterfall cascading from the rocks above. It was really only about a foot deep, so Alice could stand up in it. But she was all wet, clothes covered in muddy water, and it was the middle of May, so the water was probably freezing.

"Kid, this water is pretty cold," Wynonna said leaning down and grazing her fingers over the icy water.

"I don't care! Come play, mommy! You too, Aunties!" Alice said, jumping up and down and splashing water everywhere. 

Nicole laughed and joined Waverly, gently placing her hand on Waverly's back. Hazel had no idea what was going on, but Alice's excitement got her excited, so she was smiling and babbling like crazy."What do you think, Hazel? Is Alice crazy?" she asked, trying to get a rise out of her niece. 

"I'm not crazy! You're crazy for not playing with me!" she said, trying to splash her Aunties, but her small arms didn't get a very big splash. 

"What do you say, Hazel?" she said, undoing her carrier. "Wanna check it out?" she gently picked Hazel up from her carrier. Nicole didn't think to introduce Hazel to the small stream in front of them would be a big deal, but Waverly, on the other hand, was very unsure of the idea. 

"Nicole, what are you doing?" she asked, walking closer to Nicole, who was slowly squatting down. She gently placed Hazel on her knee, she dipped her hands in the water, gently splashing around, wondering what Hazel's reaction was. 

"Nicole what if she falls in, or get hypothermia? I don't think it's a good idea," Waverly said, gently tugging Nicole's hood, wanting her to step back from the water and put Hazel back in their carrier. 

"Babygirl, she's fine. Nicole wouldn't let that happen, she just wants her to explore more," Wynonna said, taking her sister's hand in her own. "She's fine." 

"Don't worry, Waves," Nicole said calmly. "I got it." 

Nicole gently sat Hazel at the shore of the water, letting her boots get in the water, but her bum on the wet, dirt edge. Hazel was unsure at first of her surroundings. She stuck her hand in the wet dirt next to her, stared at it for a second and then went to put her hand in her mouth but was quickly stopped by Nicole.

"Ah, no. That doesn't go in your mouth," Nicole said, grabbing Hazel's hand and wiping all the dirt off as best she could. 

Hazel put her hand back down and moved her feet, realizing that there was water in front of her, she smiled and splashed her feet, getting dirt water everywhere; on herself and Nicole. Her splashing caused her to squeal in excitement and caused a reaction from Alice, who came running over. 

"Hazel you like the water, too?!" Alice asked enthusiastically. "Come play with me!" she squealed, grabbing Hazel's arm. 

"Whoa!" Nicole said, grabbing Alice's hand and stopping her from pulling a 5-month into freezing cold water. 

"Hey!" Alice whined. "I want her to play with me!" 

"I'm sorry, Alice. She can't play with you quite yet, she-" Nicole said, getting cut off by her upset niece. 

"Why? That's not fair!" she yelled. 

"Alice, you don't want her playing with you anyway. She can't walk yet, she's still working on sitting up, so it wouldn't be fun to just sit here," Wynonna said, squatting down next to Nicole. She hoped that would be enough to calm Alice down, she did not want a temper tantrum in the middle of the woods. 

Alice looked back at her baby cousin and sighed. 

"C'mon, let's get out of that freezing water. I don't want you to catch anything, we're going home soon, right?" Wynonna asked, eyeing Waverly while picking her daughter up from the muddy cold water. 

"Right, this hike was longer than anticipated, so we should get going soon," Waverly said, squatting down next to Nicole. She gently Hazel's back, who was still splashing about and getting mud everywhere. 

"C'mon Hazey, I don't want you catching anything either," she said, picking up her wet and dirty baby. 

"See, that wasn't bad at all," Nicole said standing up. "She loved it," she said, giving Waverly a smile. 

Waverly rolled her eyes and smiled back at her wife, knowing she was right and there was nothing to worry about. She decided to sacrifice her long sleeve shirt and carry Hazel instead of putting her in the carrier, it was easy to clean but she just didn't feel like strapping her back in it. 

"Let's get going, I've had enough of the outdoors for the day," Waverly said, waiting for the rest of her family. 

Alice slipped out of Wynonna's arms and up the hill. Normally Wynonna didn't have a problem with her running ahead but considering they didn't know where they were she didn't think it was a good idea. 

"Hey, Alice!" Wynonna said, attempting to go after her but losing her footing on the little ball of energy that ripped herself from her mother's arms. 

"Alice, baby!" Nicole said, sprinting after he niece. For a 3-year-old she was pretty fast, but Nicole was much bigger than Alice so she was able to catch up pretty quick. 

She caught up to her and scooped her up into her arms, getting dirt and muddy water all over her. 

"Kiddo, you can't run off like that. We don't know this place that well, we don't want you to get lost," Nicole said, keeping Alice in her arms, holding her like a small baby. 

"Sorry, Auntie Cole. I'm just excited!" Alice said in Nicole's arms. Nicole expected her to squirm and try to wriggle her way out of her arms, but she surprisingly didn't, she stayed put until they reached Waverly and Wynonna. 

"Alice, don't run off like that again," Wynonna said sternly as Nicole set her back down on the ground. She bent down so she was eye level with her toddler. "I don't want you getting lost and hurt," she said, her voice getting softer but still kept her 'mom tone'.

Wynonna was normally a strong woman, but when it came to her daughter, like Waverly she tended to be a bit more raw and emotional. 

"Sorry mommy," Alice said quietly, giving Wynonna a hug, trying to make up for her mistake. 

"It's ok sweetie. But just don't do it again," Wynonna said, hugging back before standing up and taking her daughter's hand. 

Waverly and Nicole smiled at each other and started heading back the way they came, Wynonna and Alice following behind. It surprisingly took a shorter time to get back to the car, it felt a lot shorter and Nicole felt a lot better now that they were in the car heading home. She was exhausted and all she wanted to do was take a shower and curl up in bed with her wife. 

Waverly offered to drive home because she knew that Nicole was tired and she decided that she would let her nap on the way home. Nicole gladly took her offer and passed out ten minutes into the ride home, she wasn't the only one because everyone in the back fell asleep too. Waverly wasn't complaining though, she was glad everyone was getting a nap in, especially Hazel, she was right on time for her afternoon nap. 

When everyone got home all they wanted to do was sleep. Wynonna changed Alice the moment they got home and set her down to finish her nap in her bedroom that Nicole and Waverly had furnished for her and Waverly changed Hazel out of her dirty clothes and diaper and put down for her nap in her crib. Wynonna didn't even say anything she just put Alice down, headed for the couch and passed out. Nicole was already in bed by the time Waverly came back from putting Hazel down. 

Waverly smiled as she took off her leggings and threw on a pair of sweats, she joined her wife in bed and Nicole instinctively came over and wrapped her arms around Waverly. She pulled her close and nuzzled her nose into the back of Waverly's neck before falling asleep again.

Wynonna and Alice weren't planning to stay for so long, but everyone was so tired so they all just passed out all over the homestead. Waverly didn't mind at all, she was already planning on having a huge dinner for them all, including Doc, Robin, and Jeremy when they were done napping. She was glad to be getting some sleep so she could have some energy to spend the rest of the day with her family.

And she was glad that Nicole was getting all the sleep she missed for the first time in days. She knew Nicole was still waiting for a call from her brother, but she was finally getting more than 2 hours of sleep in and Waverly could fall asleep with a clean conscious, knowing Nicole was taking care of herself, cuddling her wife and getting some sleep, even if it was just for a few hours. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry it's taken me SO long to get this up, I've had a lack of motivation lately with school and the holidays and I hope after New Years I should be back! But I really hope you enjoyed this chapter! Let me know your thoughts and I hope you had a great Christmas or whatever you celebrate :) xo


	13. update... again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> im sorry guys... i promise when i'm in a better state of mind i'll be back. it's just a lot right now and i need some time.

i have been so inactive with both of my fics. i literally haven't updated 'Fast Car' in a month and i'm SO sorry about that. i currently have midterms going on at school which is taking up so much time because i'm dumb and put too much pressure on myself because i need to get into college and i'm in some hard fucking classes that just take up all my time.

i got home at 12 in the afternoon today after my last midterm and have been working on algebra for the past. 8. HOURS. literally took like a two hour break and it's currently 10:30 pm here. im so fucking tired and i have some other stuff going on mentally and all the shit in my life right is just becoming WAY too much. i honestly haven't been that motivated to write because all my energy goes into school and trying to graduate and get a good GPA and get into a good school.

i'm sorry i know i've been so, so, so MIA and i feel awful... i told myself i'd be a good writer and try to update you guys at least once a week, two weeks max. i just really need some time to get reorganized and back in the right mindset because things are just no bueno right now. 

i hope you guys understand and again, i'm so, so sorry for going off the grid for the THIRD time. i just really don't know what to do right now. but i love you guys and your constant support. thank you <3


	14. Drowning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's been a month since Nicole got the letter from her brother. Hazel is coming up on her 6 month birthday and Nicole is starting to lose hope.

 It was 3:32 in the morning and Nicole wasn't in bed, cuddled up with Waverly. Instead, she was downstairs, standing at the sink and staring out the window with a cup of Chamomile Tea. She never drank tea and the only time she did was when she needed to calm down and get to sleep, it was her 2nd cup, and it wasn't working. 

A million things were running through her mind, all about her brother. Was he missing, taken hostage, what if he didn't even get the letter yet, despite it being a month? There was one main question that stuck out in her mind: was he dead or alive?\The suspense was killing her, and she wasn't sure if she could take it. 

Her daily daydreaming about her brother got interrupted when she felt a hand on her shoulder, followed by a small squeeze. She put her mug down and turned around to see Waverly, staring up at her with misty eyes. 

"Nicole," she said quietly, almost inaudible. "Baby."

Nicole looked down at the ground; she knew her wife wasn't getting any sleep either. Nicole stayed up worrying about her brother, Waverly stayed up worrying about Nicole. It was an awful cycle that they were trapped in and it was causing some tension in their relationship. It was nothing they couldn't handle, but any strain on any relationship is never easy. 

"Waverly, go back to bed," she said, giving her a quick and gentle kiss on the tip of her nose. "I'll be up soon." 

"No, you won't," Waverly a little louder this time. "You always say that and then I wake up to an empty bed. Please, I'm not going up without you." 

Nicole gave a sad smile and gave in and took her wife's hand in her own. "Ok, C'mon, baby," she said, swooping her up into her arms bridal style, causing her to erupt into a fit of giggles. 

"Shh!" Nicole whisper yelled. "We don't want to wake Hazel. We don't need another thing to add on to our lack of sleep." 

Waverly stifled her laughter by burying her head into Nicole's chest, keeping one arm wrapped around her neck. She couldn't help but breath in Nicole's intoxicating vanilla dipped donuts smell, she didn't know how Nicole managed to smell like that all the time. She could've finished up a two-hour workout and be a sweaty mess and still somehow smell like vanilla. It baffled Waverly, but it was one of her favorite things about Nicole. 

Nicole quietly opened the bedroom door and gently flopped Waverly onto the bed, quickly following behind and crawling under the covers. She opened her arms, waiting for Waverly to accept the invitation, which she gladly accepted and crawled into Nicole's arms, burying her head once again in her chest. 

Nicole wrapped her arms around Waverly, pulling her even closer. They laid like that for a while, wrapped in each other's arms. Waverly listened to Nicole's heartbeat, feeling the gentle rise and fall of her chest. She lived for moments like these, being wrapped up in her loves arms, despite the giant elephant in the room. 

Nicole loved holding Waverly and wanted to stay awake just a little longer so she could take in the moment. But she couldn't keep her eyes open and finally succumbed to her exhaustion and fell asleep; her wife still curled up in her arms. 

Waverly soon followed, her eyes inevitably shutting from her sleep exhaustion too.

 

***

 

Nicole woke up to an empty bed, legs, and arms sprawled across the comforter. She was laying stomach down, head buried in her pillow and even a little drool coming from her mouth. She rolled over and looked at the clock and saw that it read 9:30. 

She sat up in bed and rubbed the sleep from her eyes before getting up and making her way to the bathroom. She was used to looking like the beast from 'Beauty and the Beast,' but this morning, she looked like the walking dead. Bags under her eyes, hair sticking out in all places, puffy eyelids, and she was even starting to break out, noticing a few pimples on her forehead. 

"Oh my god," Nicole mumbled to herself, leaning in closer and looking at the hot mess staring back at her. "Jesus," she said, trying to tame her quite literally 'fiery' red hair. She stepped away from the mirror and turned on the shower, hoping a nice hot shower would help wake her up and wash away the grime from yesterday. She undressed and stepped in, immediately sticking her head under the showerhead, letting the warm water wake her up. 

Just as she was reaching for the shampoo bottle, she felt two petite arms wrap around her stomach and breasts press against her back. She smiled big and turned around to see Waverly standing there, with mashed banana in her hair and some throw up on her shoulder. 

"Oh, baby," she said, sucking her lips, trying not to laugh at her adorable wife covered in food. 

"I know, I know, you can laugh," Waverly, unwrapping herself from Nicole and crossing her arms. She was blushing like crazy, and her cheeks were getting redder by the second. 

"No, no," she said, shaking her head, telling herself that she wasn't going to laugh. But she couldn't help herself and burst into a fit of giggles. Honestly, she wasn't even laughing at the fact that Waverly was covered in food and smelled like throw up, she was laughing at how cute she looked. She had her little pout on her face, and she was covered in food and vomit, standing there with red cheeks and crossed arms. Her wife's pout was the cutest thing she had ever seen, besides their daughter of course. 

"What happened, sweetie?" Nicole said, giving her tired yet loving stare, and flashing her irresistible dimples. She turned around slightly and reached for the shower head, gently turning Waverly to the side so she could wash the vomit and mashed bananas from her hair and body. 

"Well I guess our little girl doesn't like bananas," Waverly said, letting Nicole wash off her vomit and food covered body. "We had some that were about to go bad, and I didn't want to waste them. So I mashed them up and fed them to her, one bite, and I got ' _the look_ ,' and she starts flinging bananas everywhere. I somehow get it all over me, and she just spills a little on her onesie."

Nicole couldn't help but laugh at her wife's tone; it was the tone she used whenever she felt like she lost at something. Like when she lost this intense game of monopoly or got taken down in a sparring match between her and Wynonna. It was adorable, and her wife hated losing. 

"Yeah, she likes her applesauce," Nicole said, gently washing the last of the banana from Waverly's hair. She gently placed a kiss to Waverly's cheek before putting the showerhead back on the mount. 

"Well, she is down for a nap," Waverly said, smirking seductively and wrapping her arms around her wife's neck. "And we have some time, too, you know," she pursed her lips playfully, closing the small space between them.  

Nicole smiled and leaned in for a hungry kiss. She reached her hand up and grabbed a fistful of her hair, leaning in and forcing Waverly to arch her back, molding their bodies together perfectly. There were a million things on Nicole's mind, but right now the only thing on her mind was her naked wife and the fact that Hazel was asleep, all the way down the hall. 

 

***

 

"Stop staring," Nicole mumbled with a raspy morning voice. "It's creepy."

She lifted her arm and covered her eyes from the bright sun streaming in from the windowsill. Hazel was peacefully sleeping in Nicole's arms, resting her head right in the middle of her chest. She had started teething, and it wasn't easy on the both of them. Last night was particularly bad; she wouldn't stop crying. The only thing that seemed to calm her down was her chilled teething ring and cuddles from her mommas. 

Nicole and Waverly said before she was that they wouldn't let her get used to sleeping in their bed. They wanted her to get used to sleeping in her own bed, but the past few days the only thing that seemed to calm her down was sleeping in their bed. 

"I can't help it," Waverly said with a huge smile across her face. "Our daughter nuzzled in my wife's arms. How can I not stare? I still have butterflies." 

It was true, Waverly had gotten up well before Nicole. She didn't even realize that she had been staring at them for a solid fifteen minutes and there was no way she was stopping. And the huge smile on her face wasn't going to disappear anytime soon either. 

Nicole gave a sleepy smile and moved her arm from her eyes and squinted at Waverly. She could barely make out the blurry and bright figure in front of her. 

"We are pretty cute huh?" Nicole said quietly, looking down at Hazel, who was still asleep in her arms. She was exhausted because she wasn't moving an inch. 

"Yes, you are," Waverly said with a smirk. She leaned down and placed a soft kiss to her wife's lips. She then turned her head ever so slightly and grazed the top of Hazel's forehead with her lips, careful not to wake her. 

Waverly laid back down in bed, turning to her side and looking deeply into Nicole's big brown eyes. She lived for moments like these, laying in bed with her wife and daughter: no electronics, no phones, no paperwork, nothing. Just some morning cuddles, it was easily her favorite part of the day. 

"I can't believe she's six months old today," Waverly said quietly, reaching her hand out and stroking Nicole's face gently. 

Nicole flashed her dimples and placed a quick kiss to Waverly's hand. Hazel was still passed out on Nicole's chest. 

"I know. She's growing up so fast, Waves," Nicole said, gently looking back down at Hazel and rubbing her back, assuring she stayed asleep. "I don't know where the time went. I swear you were throwing up just yesterday." 

Waverly laughed and rolled onto her back. "Yeah, my morning sickness was pretty bad." 

Waverly was about four weeks along when they realized that she was pregnant. Every morning at 7:00 on the dot she would have to throw up. And it wasn't just once and done, oh no, no. She threw up, got back in bed and had to get up an hour later and throw up again. And then she was nauseous for the rest of the day, only to do it all over again the morning. It was mentally and physically agonizing for Waverly and Nicole hated that she couldn't do more but rub Waverly's back and make her bed in breakfast if she was even willing to eat. 

"I think our toilet would say so," Nicole said, teasing Waverly. 

Waverly playfully slapped Nicole's arm, which unfortunately was enough to wake Hazel up. She lifted her head up and immediately started crying, face becoming red, screaming at the top of her lungs.

Nicole pursed her lips and sat up, sitting Hazel up with her. She was getting really good at sitting up on her own, but she still had some trouble keeping her balance, so there were a few tumbles here and there. 

"Oh sweetie, mommy's sorry. She didn't mean to wake you," Nicole said, picking her up into a shoulder hold.

"I'm sorry Hazey," Waverly said, rubbing her back and playing with her feet. "C'mere, you're probably hungry. Let's get some breakfast while momma get's ready. We have a lot to do today." She slowly took Hazel into her arms, making sure that she didn't upset the screaming six-month-old baby even more. 

She threw the covers off her legs and put on some slippers. She went over to the dresser and pulled out a purple onesie for Hazel. She walked over to Nicole's side of the bed, who was staring at them with a huge smiling on her face, flashing her dimples for everyone to see. 

"Now who's the one who's staring," Waverly said, leaning in and giving Nicole a quick kiss on the lips, Hazel still screaming and wiggling in her arms. 

Nicole giggled into the kiss, wanting it to last longer. She was going to grab Waverly's arm but she pulled away too fast. 

"I'll start breakfast," she said opening the bedroom door. "We have a lot to do today so don't dilly dally getting ready!" she said from the stair hallway. 

Nicole smiled and shook her head in complete disbelief. She couldn't believe her little girl was 6 months. She wasn't even a year old and Nicole felt like she was going to cry. Time was going by so fast, she didn't want Hazel to grow up. She wanted her to stay a baby forever. 

Waverly wasn't kidding when she said they had a lot to do today. Nicole walked down the stairs to find the oven on, sink full of dirty dishes, and an empty box of cake mix. Hazel sitting on her blanket playing with the millions of toys in front of her. 

"Hi my sweet girl," Nicole cooed. She walked over and bent down, swooping Hazel up in her arms and all the way in the air, causing the little girl to smile. She put her back down at eye level, smiling at her before leaning in and blowing soft bubbles against Hazel's stomach, causing her to laugh and squeal uncontrollably. She gently sat down and placed Hazel on her back, nuzzling her nose into her and tickling her belly. All you could hear was Nicole laughing and Hazel squealing at the top of her lungs. Hazel was growing fast and she was now at the age where she touches everything, so every chance she got she could reach out place her cold, slobber-covered hand to Nicole's face. 

Waverly came up from the basement with a handful of decorations and a whole bunch of squealing. She couldn't help but stop and stare (again) at her wife and daughter. They were just too cute together. Nicole loved her daughter with all her heart and it was very obvious. She would do anything for her, from rubbing her sore gums in the middle of the night and getting absolutely no sleep to going to opening the supermarket at 2 o'clock in the morning because Waverly's nipple hurt and they were out of baby formula. Waverly knew the minute she kissed the red-headed officer on Nedley's couch, she was the one for her. 

"Aww," Waverly said with a smile, throwing the decorations on the kitchen table. "My girls are adorable." 

" _She's_ pretty adorable," Nicole said, standing up with Hazel in her arms. "So uh, what are you doing with this stuff?" she asked, picking up a huge bag of pink colored streamers. 

"Decorating silly!" Waverly said with a giggle. She grabbed a huge 'Happy Birthday' sign and grabbed a step ladder from the closet. She walked over to the middle of the room, between the kitchen and the family room and grabbed some ceiling hooks. 

"What are the plans for today?" Nicole asked, following her while putting Hazel back down to play with her toys. She consciously stood behind Waverly, hoping that she wouldn't fall.

"Everyone is coming over for dinner and cake. And I was thinking everyone could sleep over. We haven't done much family stuff lately and I miss everyone. Jeremy and Robin are in the process of buying their first house together and Wynonna and Doc are busy with Alice," Waverly said, hanging the happy birthday sign up and stepping down from the ladder. 

"I miss everyone. I feel like everyone is going their separate ways and we're never going to see each other again. And pretty soon it's going to be just us because everyone is busy with their lives and we're busy with ours. And then we just die and our funeral is extremely awkward for Hazel and our future kids when our now estranged family shows up for the wake. I don't want that to happen, I went to school with this girl and-" 

"Whoa, Waverly," Nicole said, stepping in front of her placing her hands on her shoulders. "Waverly, sweetie. That's not going to happen. Yes, everyone is busy with their lives and yes we don't get to see them as often outside of work. But I can promise you,  _nothing_ is going to happen to us or this family, ok? I promise. No matter how old you get, no matter how far you go, you  _always_ need family. Family leans on one another and in my personal opinion, you can't live without them."

Waverly looked up with misty eyes, her lower lip quivering. She had gotten this tone in her voice and look on her face that was unbearable for Nicole. She hadn't seen Waverly this worried since they got pregnant with Hazel and Waverly was worried about another miscarriage. She looked so broken and so scared, Nicole hated seeing her like that. It was a feeling she wasn't able to explain, she just wanted to protect Waverly and fix her broken heart. 

"What's this about, Waves? What's got you so worried all of a sudden?" Nicole said, taking Waverly's hand in her own and leading them to the couch. She pulled Waverly onto her lap, wrapping her arms around her and holding her close. Tighten her grip around her wife, letting her know that she was here for her, she was safe. 

"I don't know, It's just, she's now my age, when you know, my mother, she just-" Waverly stop, she could feel the lump forming in her throat. She swallowed hard, and held back her tears and continued. "I don't want anything happening to her. I mean, you know what happened to me. The barn, the fire, my mother. What if the same thing happens to me that happened with my mother? What if something happens to me or you? What if Hazel is left alone without parents, being raised by Wynonna and not knowing who her mommies were? What if we get taken away and we can never find her again, what if  _I_ get taken away and can never see you guys again?"

Nicole brought her hand up to Waverly's face and gently cupped it, staring softly into her wife's big, brown, worried eyes.

"Baby, that is never,  _never_ going to happen," she said calmly.

"Yeah, but you never know. What if-"

"Waverly," Nicole interrupted. "We broke the curse, _you_ broke the curse. You went through hell, and now we can raise our daughter in a safe place. Hazel will always know you're beautiful, long, curly brown hair. Your adorable smile, your cute little laugh, even your snort, and how you put your family before everything, making so many sacrifices to make sure everyone is safe, loved, and taken care of."

Waverly gave a sad smiling at her wife, wiping a tear threatening from her face.

"We'll always find our way back to each other, no matter the circumstances and no matter the distance, not to be cheesy," she said flashing her dimples lovingly at Waverly, placing a gentle kiss to her shoulder.

"I'll  _always_ find my way back to you. Hazel is always going to need you. Even when she's all grown up and living on her own, she's going to need you. All our future kids are going to need you, no matter how old they get. You're never gonna go unwanted, I'm always going to need you, Waverly. I can't live without you, I don't want to live without you. You're the other half of my heart, I love you so, _so_ much. I've never loved anyone the way I love you, you're my absolute best friend. You and Hazel mean everything to me. You guys are my world. Nothing is going to happen to us, Hazel is going to grow up with her moms, annoying her until our last dying breath. We're not going anywhere, Waverly. And if we do, it won't be for long," she said, giving her the biggest and most comforting smile. It was like any other smile, but for some reason, this smile was different. 

Waverly looked down and blushed, wiping the tears from her face. Nicole made her feel so safe and so loved, she had never felt that way until she met Nicole, the love of her life and soulmate. She knew she was the luckiest on earth, to have such an amazing wife, beautiful daughter, and supportive family. 

"That was... sweet," Waverly said quietly with an almost inaudible giggle. If she wasn't sitting on Nicole's lap Nicole wouldn't have heard it. 

"Sweet? C'mon I pour my heart out and that's all I get?" she asked, teasing Waverly. 

"Sorry baby," she said smiling and wrapping her arms around her neck, playing with her baby hairs on the back of her neck. "I guess I don't really know what to say, I can't compete with my wordsmith of a wife."

Waverly looked down and stared into Nicole's eyes, smile slowly disappearing from her face. "I don't think any words would say how much I love and appreciate you." 

Nicole smiled, pulling their heads together so that their foreheads were touching. She smiled up at her wife, flashing her adorable and irresistible dimples. "Baby, you don't need words, you show your love every day." 

Waverly's smile quickly returned to her face."And you're right," she said quietly. "I'm worrying about nothing, the curse is broken and we're  _safe._ As safe as we can be in the world we're living in today." 

Nicole leaned in closer and nuzzled her nose against Waverly's cheek, placing a soft kiss on just below her eye. "Nothing is going to happen to us. No one is going to come between this family, I won't let that happen."

"I love you," Waverly mumbled, leaning in to give a sloppy and emotional kiss. Nicole didn't mind though, she loved that she was Waverly's rock. She knew Waverly better than anyone, she liked to think she knew even more than Wynonna. But she took pride in how much she was so invested with her wife, almost every relationship she's ever seen or experienced ended poorly. 

"I love you, Waverly. Try not to worry, ok? I promise, I won't let anything happen to this family," Nicole said, rubbing Waverly's arm. 

"I know you won't," Waverly said, getting up from Nicole's lap. She bent down and picked up Hazel, who was currently chewing on one of her teething rings. "Our miracle baby," she said, giving her a soft kiss on the head. 

"I can finish setting up, Waves," Nicole said standing up and gently taking Hazel from Waverly's arms. "Why don't you go take a nice long shower and get ready for the day. I got it down here," she said smiling. 

"Really?" Waverly said with a huge smile forming on her face. "You'd do that?" Waverly was surprised at this offer by her wife. Nicole jumped at any chance to get out of decorating or set up for a big party or dinner. 

"Really, I think you need it," she said, putting Hazel in her high chair. "Go ahead, Waves. We'll be fine down here, I'll get Hazel some breakfast," she said, getting some pureed fruit out of the fridge. 

"Thank you, baby," Waverly said with a huge grin on her face. She came over and gave Nicole a quick kiss on the cheek before scurrying up the stairs, ready to get some time to herself. It was the little things Waverly loved the most. It made Waverly realize how lucky she was, and the best part, Nicole loved to do it; even if it meant she had to do something she didn't really like. 

It was typical Sunday morning, getting ready for their day and attending to Hazel's needs. Nothing out of the ordinary, except for they had a family dinner and party to throw later that day. 

 

***

 

"Ok, cake, balloons, decorations, plates, forks knives. I think we're all set," Waverly said, walking around the kitchen, making sure everything was perfect. "I think we're all set, everything is set up," she said, straightening out her faded white sweater. For some reason she was extremely nervous, she was used to her family, why did she feel like stranger were coming into her home? 

Waverly was pulled from her thoughts when she heard a giant sigh coming from her right. Nicole was looking through her phone again, hoping that there would be a call from her brother. 

"No call, huh?" Waverly asked softly, cautiously walking over to her wife, not sure where she was emotionally right now. 

"Nope," Nicole said bluntly. She looked at her phone one last time in desperation for angrily throwing in her pocket. She quickly looked up at Waverly and back down at the ground and quickly walked past her, trying to avoid the subject.

"When is everyone supposed to be here?" Nicole asked, taking a beer from the fridge. 

"Soon," Waverly said, crossing her arms and walking to the kitchen. "They should be here soon." 

"I'll check for more chairs," Nicole said, quickly walking back past Waverly and out the front door. 

Waverly knew she wasn't going out there to get more chairs, there were only eight of them, and one of them was going to be in a high chair. They extended the dining room table so it could accommodate everyone and chairs were the first thing that Waverly had put out. Nicole was going in there to think. 

She sighed as she watched Nicole angrily stomp to the barn, she wanted to help in any way she could, but she felt like Nicole was pushing her away. She knew Nicole didn't want to talk about it, but bottling it up wasn't good either. Waverly didn't know how to get her to open up without being too pushy. 

Waverly was just in the middle of double checking everything, when Wynonna, Doc, and Alice barged in, well- really Wynonna, Doc, and Alice just followed. 

"Heyo," Wynonna said, immediately making a beeline for the bottle of whiskey sitting on the counter. "Where's Haught?" she asked, grabbing a glass from the cupboard. 

"Out in the barn," Waverly said with a tight voice.

"Hi, Auntie Wave!" Alice said happily, jumping into her Auntie's arms. 

"Hi, sweetie," Waverly said, catching Alice at the last minute and maintaining her balance. "Are you excited to celebrate baby Hazel's birthday?"

"Yeah, mommy said I can have an extra piece of cake," she said excitedly, wiggling in her Auntie's arms. 

"Wow, mommy's really spoiling you today, huh?" Waverly asked as she set the hyper 3-year-old back down on the ground.

"What's wrong?" Wynonna asked, immediately suspicious of her sister's apathetic mood. "Why don't you seem excited for this party? Did Haught forget the ice cream cake and now everything is ruined?" she asked, hoping to get a smile out of her sister.

"Wynonna," Doc said pleadingly. "Let's not pry yet, we've only been here for a few minutes." Doc set his hat down and grabbed a glass and poured himself a whiskey as well, glaring at Wynnona to stop. 

"Waverly, what's up?" Wynonna asked, a little more demandingly this time. She stood taller and walked closer to her sister, trying to seem threatening, but it didn't threaten Waverly at all. She didn't even flinch.

"It's Nicole," Waverly said, quietly. "She-"

"She cheated on you, didn't she!"

"What?! No, she-"

"And she's keeping it from you, but you found out! I'm gonna kick Haughtshit's ass!" Wynonna said angrily, slamming down her whiskey glass, only to be pulled back by the arm from Doc. 

"Hey! I have a soon to be ex sister-in-law's ass to kick. I'm going to rip the red right out of her lying, deceiving head!" Wynonna said with an irate tone. She tried to pull free from Doc's arm, but his grip was just too strong. 

"Now, now, just settle down," he said calmly. "Let Waverly finish and  _then_ we can figure out what to do next. I don't want to start this party out with a fight of some sorts." 

Wynonna rolled her eyes and sighed, pulling her arm from Doc, who loosened his grip. She crossed her arms and looked at her sister dead in the eye. 

"What happened," she asked, already feeling the smoke come out of her ears. 

"She didn't cheat on me! She would never do that, I trust her Wynonna. She would  _never_ do that," Waverly said, lowering her tone, noticing Alice getting concerned in the family room; who lifted her head up and put down her toys. 

"It's her brother," Waverly started, only to be interrupted by her sister again. 

"Haught has a brother? Who is he?" she asked, looking back at the barn, not seeing Nicole. 

"His name is Wes. He's in the army," she said quietly. 

"Ok, and..." Wynonna said, staring directly at Waverly, wanting her to continue. "What does her brother being in the army have to do with her being an ass?" 

Waverly rolled her eye, "She hasn't been an ass, Wynonna. Not directly anyway," she mumbled. "Well, when her parents came to say goodbye after they made up of course. And they gave her a letter, that her brother wrote back in December of 2016. When Nicole got kicked out, she didn't talk to her parents  _or_ her brother. And from what I've heard and read, they were really close. There was a lot of guilt and emotion in that letter, basically saying he was going into the army and telling her to ignore her parent's opinion's and do what makes her happy. That he's sorry for not keeping in touch and he loves her and he always will and that she shouldn't worry about him," Waverly said, sitting at the stool on the counter, she needed to process what she had just shared. 

"Oh," Wynonna said quietly. 

"Oh, Waverly," Doc said with sympathy in his voice. "That can't be easy on you both, I-"

Doc got cut off by a deep grunt coming from the barn. Everyone turned their heads and looked out the window, including Alice. 

"What was that?" Alice asked, curiously, putting down her hulk and barbie toy and walking towards the kitchen where everyone was. 

"Nothing, sweetie," Wynonna said.

"Mommy and I will play with you until Auntie Nicole gets back from the barn," Doc said, gently placing his hand on the back of Alice's head, guiding her into the family room. 

Waverly took one last big breath in before bracing herself and heading for the door. She wasn't sure what Nicole was doing in there, the last time she was this angry they ended up having to remodel the guest bathroom. But it actually worked in their favor, they ended up expanding the house and making sure there were enough rooms for their future kids; including a guest bedroom. 

As Waverly approached the barn, she heard grunting, some yelling, and some loud thuds. She opened the door cautiously, hoping that something sharp wouldn't go flying past her face.

"Nicole? Sweetie?" she asked, sliding the big red door open, unsure what she was walking in to. "Nicole," she said a bit more firmly. She walked into Nicole, aggressively chopping up firewood. She wasn't taking her time at all, grabbing a log, chopping it and throwing it into the pile, only to do it again even more carelessly. Even though her wife was in danger of hurting herself, she couldn't help but admire Nicole's muscles barging through her rolled up sleeves, a slick sheen of sweat covering her face. Nicole was extremely fit and it was one of the many things that turned Waverly on. 

"Babe!" Waverly yelled, walking towards the side of Nicole, hoping to get in her peripherals.

Nicole was just finished chopping a log when she turned to see Waverly standing there with her arms crossed. She looked back down at the ax in her hand and tossed it to the side, unsure of her wife's mood. She wasn't sure if she was in for a lecture or a heart to heart.

She looked up and lifted up her shirt to wipe the sweat from her forehead, showing off her chiseled abs. Putting her shirt back down she looked at Waverly and walked a foot closer, waiting for her to say something. 

"Babe, you  _just_ showered and got ready, everyone is here!" Waverly with a slight hint of frustration in her voice. If she was being honest with herself she wanted to yell at Nicole and as much as she hated herself for wanting to do that, she was getting sick of this constant cycle. This cycle of Nicole being happy, thinking of her brother and then being short tempered with her and everyone. 

"I'm sorry," Nicole said quietly, looking back down at the ground. 

"We're still waiting on Robin and Jeremy, so you have  _some_ time to get another quick shower in. Seeing as you smell like sweat, wood, and hay," Waverly said with a big sigh, wrapping herself tightly in her jacket and walking closer. 

She approached Nicole slowly, not touching her until she was inches away from her. 

"Baby," she said softly, moving a sweaty piece of hair from her eyes. 

"I know, I'm sorry. I can't keep acting like this, it's immature and I can't keep acting like a 12-year-old. I'm an adult, a wife, and more I'm importantly I'm a mother," Nicole said, quickening her speech towards the end of her sentence. 

"No, baby, I-"

"I'm sorry for being so aloof lately and letting my mood swings get the best of me. You don't deserve my constant abuse and me taking my anger out on you. You and Hazel don't deserve it,," Nicole said, running her hand through her sweaty, matted hair. 

"Nicole, stop, I-" 

"I'm not gonna continue to act like this. Maybe I should just try and..." Nicole paused. "Maybe I should just try and forget about him, it's not healthy that I continue to obsess over this. It's going to bring no one good if I continue to-"

"Nicole!" Waverly said, raising her voice over Nicole. "Baby, I wasn't going to lecture you or anything. I was just going to tell you that I love you," she said with a smile, gently bringing Nicole's eyes to hers by her chin. 

"Oh," Nicole said her cheeks immediately starting to turn red in embarrassment. She attempted to look away, but Waverly stopped her by gently using her fingers to grab her chin and bring it back to Waverly's eyes. "I'm sorry." 

"Don't be sorry. I'm glad that you're realizing that this," Waverly started, pausing to find the right words. "That it's, not the healthiest," she said, resting her arms on Nicole's shoulders. "I think that you should get help, talk to someone. Purgatory happens to have one of the best therapists in the Calgary area."

Nicole sighed, uncertain about the idea, she broke their eye contact and looked back down at the ground. She hated talking about her feelings, with even with her wife, let alone someone she didn't know. 

"Just a thought," Waverly said, knowing Nicole's uncertainty. "I think you should consider it. You and I both aren't liking how you're processing your frustration, I think it's a good idea." 

Nicole looked back up at Waverly and gave a small smile and leaned in, giving her a soft kiss on the lips. She ran her hands around Waverly's waist and pulled her into a hug, forcing her wife on her tippy toes. 

"I love you, Waves. I'm sorry for how I've been acting. Thank you for being so patient with me. I promise I'll consider getting a therapist," she said quietly into Waverly's ear. 

Waverly smiled and nuzzled her face into the crooks of Nicole's sweaty neck. She was getting sweat on her face and smudged her mascara a little bit, she wasn't going to lie it grossed her out, but she didn't mind. She loved being in Nicole's arms, no matter the circumstances.

"I love you too, Nicole. So much," she said, wrapping her arms tighter around Nicole. "And don't say Hazel doesn't deserve you. You're the best mom ever, she loves you so,  _so,_ much. Baby, the fact that the first few months she would only let you feed her the bottle. Or the fact that she would scream her head off whenever you put her down after she was just snuggled in your arms. Baby, if anything you deserve Hazel. If anyone is destined to her mother; it's you. I couldn't imagine raising her with anyone but you. You're the best parent _and_ wife I could ever ask for."  

Nicole smiled to herself and placed a soft kiss to Waverly's neck before pulling away. She looked directly into Waverly's eyes, not breaking eye contact or faltering. "I love you, baby. And I must say I agree, I am a pretty great wife," she said, smirking at Waverly.  

Waverly tapped her bum in disagreement, "Don't let that get to your head, I think there's a pile of laundry still waiting to be folded."

"You're pretty great, too," Nicole said, leaning down to whisper in her ear. Her soft breath just tickled Waverly's ear, causing goosebumps to erupt all over her body. "In fact, the best." 

Waverly smiled and grabbed Nicole's hand and intertwining both their hands while they walked back to the house. She leaned in and rested her head on Nicole's arm, bringing up her other arm and gently wrapping it around the same arm. She was basically wrapped around Nicole like a vine. 

"As much as I love you," Waverly said, taking her head off of Nicole's arm. "You need to take another shower. Vanilla and sweat isn't exactly the best smell in the world."

Nicole laughed and gave Waverly a quick kiss on the head before opening the house door. "Will do, baby. Care to join?"

Waverly rolled her eyes and smiled, "I'd love to, but I have a party to host."

Nicole sighed and followed Waverly into the homestead. She loved her wife in every aspect, but sometimes her nitch to host a party and please people could sometimes be  _slightly_ over the top. 

"Nicole, Waverly!" Jeremy squeaked from the kitchen. "Where were you guys?" 

"Just getting a few things from the barn," Waverly said calmly. 

"Aunties!" Alice said, throwing her Barbie and Hulk down and the ground and sprinting toward Nicole and Waverly. 

"Hi sweetie," Nicole said, bending down and swooping Alice into her arms. "What's going on with my girl?" 

"I'm excited for this party, especially cake!" Alice said. She let out a big yawn and laid her head down on Nicole's shoulder. 

"Mhmm, is someone tired?" Nicole said swooping Alice up into her arms and walking into the kitchen where everyone was hanging out. 

"No," Alice mumbled, lifting her head back up. She couldn't let her sleepiness get the best of her. She had to stay awake through the rest of this party. "I'm awake!" 

Nicole laughed and looked lovingly into her niece's eyes. "Ok, kiddo. Just let me know if you need a nap. I'll happily put you to bed." She gave her a soft kiss on the cheek and putting her back down on the ground before being greeted by everyone. 

"Haughtstuff made it," Wynonna said walking towards Nicole and handing her a glass of whiskey. "You didn't destroy the barn, did you? Nedley and his construction dudes are not going to be happy with you."

Nicole took the glass from Wynonna and downed the little bit that she poured before she answered. "No, I didn't. Trust me I may be sheriff but Nedley's death stare still scares the hell out of me." 

Before Wynonna could respond Jeremy and Robin pushed past her and pulled Nicole and little Alice into a hug. "We haven't seen you in forever! Buying a house takes up a lot of time," Jeremy said, breaking the hug and smiling up at Nicole. 

"It's the actual act of moving that sucks the most," Robin said. 

"Jeremy you smell bad," Alice said bluntly, pinching her nose. 

Alice's comment received a laugh from everyone. 

Doc leaned in and smelled Jeremy and wrinkled his eyebrows in confusion. "What's wrong with Jeremy? He smells fine."

Alice recoiled in disgust and looked at her father. "He smells... spicy," she said, which also received another laugh from everyone. 

"Spicy?" Jeremy said, smelling his shirt. "What do you mean spicy? I smell like cologne." 

"Is that what is stinky, Alice? Here, smell," Robin said, grabbing Jeremy by the arm and having Alice smell his wrist. 

Alice leaned in a took a whiff, she coughed and immediately shot back, pinching her nose again. 

"Ewww, Jeremy needs a bath," Alice said. 

Everyone laughed and Nicole handed Alice off to Wynonna.

"Speaking of baths. I think I'm going to take a shower. I'm pretty gross right now," Nicole said, heading for the stairs. "I'll be back." Nicole quickly walked up the stairs, skipping every other step as she ascended up to their bedroom. 

"I need to get something, I'll be right back," Waverly said, taking her jacket off and tossing it on the chair next to her.

"Yeah, you're gonna go get laid," Wynonna said, pouring herself another glass of whiskey and smirking at her baby sister. 

Waverly rolled her eyes and sighed and quickly headed up to their bedroom, hoping to avoid anymore teasing from her sister. 

She opened their bedroom door to find Nicole taking off her very sweaty shirt. She turned around and gave Waverly a puzzled look. 

"Baby, I thought you weren't joining me?" Nicole said, tossing her dirty shirt into the hamper. 

"I'm not," Waverly said, walking towards Nicole. "I just wanted to make sure that everything is ok. That you're going to be ok for this party."

Nicole smiled and took Waverly's hands in her own. "I'm fine baby. In fact, I'm excited to spend some time with everyone. I didn't think I'd be excited about this party at all. I was dreading it actually." 

Waverly smiled and leaned in and gave Nicole a quick kiss on the lips before letting go and heading for their dresser. "If you ever need to talk to me, I'm here. You know that baby." 

"I do, I know," Nicole said, walking up next to Waverly, who was currently in the process of putting her wedding rings back on. 

"You took them off?" Nicole asked. Waverly never took her ring off. Never, she hated not wearing it and she said that 'she wanted to show the world that she was married to the loveliest person she knew.' 

"When we were setting up, I didn't want anything happened to it," Waverly said, turning back to Nicole. "Now go take a shower, I'm going to need you down here."

Nicole smiled and gave Waverly a quick peck on the cheek before heading for the bathroom. "I love you."

"And I love you."

 

***

 

"Damn, Haught," Wynonna said, leaning back in her seat. "Didn't know you could cook." 

Nicole chuckled and leaned back in her seat as well, bringing her hand from the dinner table to Waverly's thigh. "Thanks, Wynonna. Although, I must give most of the credit to Waverly. She's the one that wrote out the recipes and gave them to me. I just threw everything into the oven."

Waverly smiled and took Nicole's hand in her own, "Stop it, Nicole. You did all of it, I must say I'm a bit shocked about how well it turned out. Especially considering you  _never_ cook." 

"Mhm, the spaghetti squash, spot on," Jeremy said, making an 'ok' sign with his hand. "What did you think, Alice?" 

"I liked the chicken! Except the broccoli was gross," Alice said, pushing away the few remaining pieces on her plate. "Where's the cake?" 

Doc smiled and poured himself another small glass of whiskey and leaned forward, facing his daughter. "Soon. Why don't we just give our food some time to digest. I think a 'Paw Patrol' marathon is on right now," he said, glancing over at the TV and smiling. 

"No way!" Alice said, jumping out of her chair and racing for the TV remote. "Come join me, Robin! We can't miss the marathon!" 

Robin smiled and gave Jeremy a quick kiss on the cheek before standing up and joining Alice.

"I'll be back," he said, turning towards the living room. "Or not, looks like this could be pretty long," he said, seeing Alice create a makeshift bed on the floor. 

When Wynonna and Doc just finished renovating the living room, they wanted to go out and celebrate. They planned on going on a family date out into town, but Alice didn't want to go because there was yet, another 'Paw Patrol' marathon on TV. Robin happened to be over grabbing some stuff for Jeremy and offered to babysit so there wasn't a fuss if Wynonna and Doc were ok with it. Now Robin came over almost every morning to watch it with Alice. She refused to watch it without him. Jeremy would come along on the weekends, but Robin would always be her number one. 

"Aw," Jeremy said, swooning at the sight of his boyfriend and niece. "He's going to make a great dad." 

Everyone stopped dead in their tracks, slackjawed and looked at each other and then looked at Jeremy.

"Are you already planning about starting a family? Is he your forever?" Waverly asked in awe, curious about her best friend's love life. 

Jeremy shrugged his shoulders and gave a sappy smile. "I don't know. I mean I do, but I don't. I could totally see it though. Him and I, getting married and starting a family. I mean, I am the only one here not married and not a parent." 

"I get to be your bae of honor?!" Waverly asked in excitement, sitting taller and giving all her attention towards Jeremy.

"Of course, of course," Jeremy said. "But, let's not get ahead of ourselves. I mean, we  _just_ bought a house together. And we haven't talked about marriage or kids, not yet anyway. But I could totally see us being a family." Jeremy turned away and looked back at Robin and Alice, who were both watching with rapt attention. 

"Aw, our little science geek found his love," Wynonna said, mocking Jeremy and making fake heart eyes. 

"Wynonna," Waverly said, glaring at Wynonna. 

"I'm only kidding! Jeremy knows that" Wynonna said. "But I really am glad for you dude." 

"When you going to go ring shopping?" Doc asked, taking out a cigarette. 

"Hey, not in the house!" Waverly berated. 

Doc shook his head and quickly put them back in his pocket, not wanting to upset his sister-in-law. 

"Whoa, let's slow down. I may be talking about it but that doesn't mean I'm ready to actually do it. As I said, we just bought a house together. That's a big enough step for a while," Jeremy said, putting his hands up in defense and sitting back in his seat.

"Where's that cake at?" Wynonna asked, getting up from her seat and heading towards the kitchen.

"Um, I'm not really in the mood for cake right now. I'm stuffed," Nicole said, rubbing her very bloated belly and unbuttoned jeans. "I think we should wait, just let everyone's food settle."

"And if we interrupt 'Paw Patrol,' we'll never hear the end of it," Doc said, pointing his head in the direction of Alice and Robin. "Remember the last time we interrupted 'Paw Patrol?'"

Wynonna shook her head and sighed, sitting back down next to Doc and downing the rest of her whiskey. "I remember, I still don't know how she knows about the First Amendment, she's 3 years old for God's sakes!"

Jeremy looked away and his cheeks started to become red.

"Jeremy, what did you do? You look guilty as hell," Wynonna asked, glaring at Jeremy and slamming her glass down.

"Um, well, the day you brought her to the office when she was sick and she was hanging out watching TV, there was a documentary on about the Civil War and Women's Rights. She started asking questions, so like a good uncle, I answered them as best I could to a 3-year-old. And then we somehow got onto the topic of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights and I guess she somehow remembered the First Amendment out of all the 26 I listed?" he said, raising his hands in defense, hoping the look on Wynonna's face would just a look and she wouldn't act on it. 

"Jeremy? She's 3! She doesn't need a history lesson when she can barely count  _or_ read!" Wynonna said, getting up and leaning over the table. 

"Whoa, Wynonna, sweetie. Let's calm down. She was going to learn it anyway, just 13 years early," Doc said, gently grabbing Wynonna by the arm and pulling her back down into her seat. 

"Think about it this way, she'll be ahead of all her classmates," Nicole said, giving a warm smile to Wynonna. 

"She's smart like you, Wynonna," Waverly said, smiling at her sister and rubbing her back, trying to calm her down. 

Alice was the spitting image of Wynonna with a hint of Doc thrown in there, but they were both equally her parents. Alice was stubborn, smart, and didn't take anything from everyone, just like Wynonna. But on the other hand, she was loving, thoughtful, and kind to everyone she met, just like Doc. But sometimes her Wynonna qualities could get the best of her. 

While they were in the midst of talking and laughing over the Jeremy and Alice situation, Wynonna all of a sudden felt a tug on her sleeve. She looked down to see Alice looking up at her with her big brown eyes. 

"Mommy, can we have cake now?" Alice asked, very softly and very politely. She looked back at Robin to make sure she was it right, she heard him whisper the words 'please' and shook her head turning back to Wynonna and copying Robin. "Please?"

"I don't know kid," Wynonna said, leaning down and picking Alice up into her lap. "Everyone ready for cake?"

Everyone looked around the table to see other's reactions and shook their heads.

"I think we're ready for cake, Hazel should be getting up from her nap soon, we did have an early dinner," Waverly said, getting up and heading for the kitchen.

"She'll be up soon, she does have a sweet tooth," Nicole said, which immediately received a look from Waverly.

"How would you know that?" Waverly asked suspiciously, putting her hands on her hips. 

Nicole gave a sheepish smile and ran her fingers through her hair. "Um, last week? When you went out with Wynonna, I let her try a little bit of ice cream." 

Waverly rolled her eyes and sighed. "Nicole! She's growing, she can't be eating that stuff. The only exception is today and her birthdays! We need to instill healthy eating habits! I don't want her becoming a sugar addict like Wynonna. All I remember from my childhood is Wynonna eating donuts, milkshakes, any sugary treat that's sure to give you high cholesterol." 

Nicole couldn't help but giggle at her wife's health obsession, especially with her being vegan. She loved that her wife was so healthy, but sometimes she worried that Waverly worried too much about it.

"It's not funny," Waverly mumbled turning back towards the counter to grab the cake. 

"No, of course not," Nicole said, shaking her head, trying to stifle the smile on her face. But she couldn't help herself because when Waverly turned back around, she was greeted with a giant smile on Nicole's face, following by her puppy eyes that Waverly just couldn't resist. 

Waverly sighed and couldn't help but crack a smile, followed by a few giggles. 

"You're going to be the death of me," Waverly said, walking past Nicole, but making sure to stop and give her wife a long, tender kiss on the lips. 

"I love you!" Nicole said with a high pitched voice, giving Waverly a cheesy smile instead of a sincere one, which received a laugh from the brunette. 

"Alright, here we go," Waverly said, setting down the cake in the middle of the dining table. "Chocolate cake layered with peanut butter frosting, made the frosting from scratch so no picking it off," she scolded at Wynonna. Despite her sister's sweet tooth for some odd reason, she wasn't a big fan of frosting. 

"We'll see about that baby girl," Wynonna said, passing out the plates that Nicole had set out. "Depends on how good the frosting is." 

"I want a super big piece!" Alice said, standing up in her seat and hopping up and down.

"Alice, sit on your bottom," Doc said, giving Alice a scolding look.

Alice complied and sat down, patiently waiting for her cake while watching Waverly's every move, hoping that she'll start cutting the cake.

"What do you think Nicole?" Waverly asked, turning to Nicole who was clearing the last of the dinner plates. "I think we can wake Hazel from her nap, just this once." 

Nicole gave a big, dimpled smile and gave Waverly a quick kiss on the cheek before grabbing the baby monitor and shutting it off. She quickly headed up the stairs into Hazel's nursery, hoping that their little girl wouldn't be too tired or too upset. 

She quietly opened the door to the nursery and turned on the light. She made her way to her crib, she took her time because she didn't want to rush things and inevitably cause her little girl to start crying. 

Hazel started to wiggle in her crib and fluttered her eyes, she was intently sucking on her pacifier. By the time Nicole made her way to the crib her eyes were completely open, staring right at her mama. 

"Hi, Hazey," Nicole said in a baby voice, bending down and slowly picking Hazel up. "Sorry to wake you for your nap, but we have your half birthday to celebrate!" 

Hazel held her head up for a few seconds before putting it back down on Nicole's shoulder, she nuzzled into Nicole's shirt and continued to suck on her pacifier. It was very obvious that she was still tired, her eyes were just about closing on Nicole's shoulder.

A small groan and stretch of her arms came from the now 6-month-old in Nicole's arms.

"Oh, I know," Nicole cooed, walking down the stairs rubbing her back. "I'm sorry, baby. We just didn't want you to miss this big day, we'll put you back down after cake, ok?" She placed a soft kiss on the top of Hazel's head and continued to gently rub her back, which was calming to the sleepy little girl. 

Waverly heard Nicole come down the stairs and was met with the sight of her wife, tightly holding Hazel to her chest, Hazel nuzzled into Nicole's shoulder, sucking on her pacifier, slowly falling asleep in Nicole's arms. Her heart just about jumped from her chest, she couldn't get enough of them.

"There she is," Waverly said with a huge grin on her face. "Our now 6-month-old baby girl!" She quickly made over to Nicole, tenderly taking Hazel into her own arms, who didn't even hesitate to lay her head down on Waverly's shoulder as well, nuzzling into the crook of her neck. 

"My tired little girl," Waverly said, walking over to the table and taking a seat right in front of the cake. 

The moment Nicole sat down Alice hopped right out of her seat and took this opportunity to climb into Nicole's lap. She wasn't the most graceful as her foot slipped, getting a small mark on Nicole's jeans. But she succeeded nonetheless and got situated, sitting right in the middle, with her legs hanging over the side of Nicole's legs.

Nicole smiled at her little niece in her lap and wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close. Wynonna was across the table, smiling at the two of them. She would never admit it but she really did love Nicole and loved the bond that Alice shared with her Aunties, especially Nicole. 

"Well Hazel, you're 6 months old today! I can't believe you turn one in half a year," Waverly said, getting misty-eyed. "You're my miracle baby." She craned her neck down and gave Hazel a kiss on her head, messing up her brown, red hair. 

"You are so loved little girl," Waverly said, standing straighter, forcing Hazel to face more towards her family around the table. "See? Your whole family's here to celebrate your big day." Waverly sniffling while wiping a tear threatening to fall from her face.

"You have the best family in the world," Nicole said, scooting her chair closer with Alice still in her lap.

"And the best cousin ever!" Alice said cheerfully, getting everyone to laugh again.

"And the best Godmother and Godfather," Wynonna said, taking Doc's hand in hers. Doc smiled and took off his hat and placed a kiss to Wynonna's temple.

"We love you, Hazel," Doc said softly.

" _And_ the best Uncles in the world. Robin will always be there to give you advice and I'll always be here to help you with your homework," Jeremy said with a very serious, yet playful smile.

"But most of all, she has the best mommies in the world," Wynonna said, leaning forward and placing a kiss to Hazel's head, who was still nuzzled into Waverly's neck. "You're one lucky kid." 

Nicole smiled and gently patted Alice's bum, letting her know that it was time to sit in her own seat now. She nodded her head and jumped off Nicole's lap and scurried to her seat. 

"Well, I think it's time for some cake," Nicole said, moving her chair right next to Waverly and wrapping her arm around Waverly's back. "Mommy made the best cake for you!" 

Waverly smiled and gently pried Hazel's grip onto her shirt and started to lift her off her chest to put her in her high chair. The moment Hazel wasn't clinging to her mommy's side she started to scream her head off. Her WubbaNub elephant pacifier hit the ground and Waverly's ears rang for a few seconds. Hazel had some iron lungs and her parents were sure a window or vase was going to break by how high pitched her cries tended to be. 

"Hey it's ok," Waverly cooed, setting her in her high chair, which caused Hazel to scream even more. She started to throwing her hands in the air and looking everywhere for her mommas, specifically Waverly. She just wanted to be laying on her mom again. 

"It's ok, Hazel. Do you want some cake? Let's try the delicious cake mommy made," Nicole said, trying to console the screaming baby in front of them. She grabbed her baby fork and took the smallest piece of cake with a little bit of peanut butter frosting and bringing it to Hazel's face. Which she instantly refused and turned her head, piercing everyone's ears, especially Nicole's. 

"Ok, ok," Nicole said, picking her up out of her high chair and bringing her right back to her chest, holding her tightly. The moment she was in Nicole's arm she immediately stopped crying. "Shh, it's ok, Hazey. We can try some cake later," she said softly, tenderly rubbing her back, comforting Hazel who was still teary-eyed and snotty. 

"Here you go, sweetie," Waverly said, gently placing her rinsed pacifier back into her mouth. Hazel gladly accepted and started sucking on it the moment it touched her mouth. 

"I told you, you're a bad baker," Wynonna quipped. She smiled at her sister playfully and snickered. 

Waverly rolled her eyes and smiled at her sister. She knew she wasn't a bad baker, Wynonna just loved to yank her chain. 

"I want a piece, can I get one please!?" Alice asked with wide eyes. She had been waiting patiently and wasn't sure she could wait anymore, she just wanted a piece of cake. 

"Yes, you can, kid," Wynonna said, standing up and grabbing a serving knife. "You've been waiting very patiently so I think you can get an extra big piece." 

A big smile formed across Alice's face and she was practically jumping out of her seat, watching every move Wynonna was making. 

"Oh, us too, please. But just one piece," Jeremy said. "We're trying to watch our figure," Jeremy said, patting his very flat and scrawny torso.  

Wynonna scoffed and looked at Jeremy. "What figure? You're skin and bones, you weigh nothing. If anything you _need_ some cake to gain some weight." 

"Hey! I happen to like skin and bones. I think he's just perfect," Robin said, taking Jeremy's hand into his own. 

"Mhm, ok," Wynonna said, handing them a single piece of cake to share between the two of them. 

Wynonna grabbed another plate and cut a big piece for Nicole, thinking she needed it from all the stress of setting up and hosting a big party. 

Nicole shook her head and smiled, "No thanks, Wynonna. I'll have some later. I don't wanna disturb her," she said, looking down at the sleepy little girl nestled in Nicole's arms. It was a precious sight and Waverly couldn't get enough of it. She slyly took out her phone and snapped a picture, making a mental note to make that as her lock screen later. 

"I'm going to put her back down. Poor baby is exhausted, I think she'll be going to bed a little early tonight," Nicole said quietly, slowly getting up from her seat, making sure not to disturb Hazel. "I'll be back," she said, placing her hand on Waverly's forearm and giving a slight squeeze before heading towards the stairs. 

Waverly smiled to herself as she watched them both walk upstairs, thanking whoever was up there for bringing her and Nicole together. She was so thankful every day that she met Nicole, she knew she didn't deserve her. Nicole was so good to her and treated her like a princess, always putting her needs before her own. 

She always assumed she was just going to marry champ and have his babies. Never in a million years did she think she was going to meet Nicole, let alone fall in love with a beautiful redhead standing her in front of her at Shorty's.

It was scary, exploring her sexuality. The only person she'd dated besides Nicole was Champ. Champ never made her feel what Nicole made her feel. She was never excited to go out him, he never gave her butterflies, he never treated her like an actual human being worthy of respect, and he always thought of himself before Waverly. Nicole, on the other hand, being with her was like night and day. She respected her, treated her like a princess, and always put herself last. To this day her stomach did flips waking up wrapped in Nicole's arms, it was so surreal, having a family and be married to the love of her life. She didn't know it was possible to be this happy. 

"I hope the cake is good. I woke up early and made it from scratch, frosting, and everything," Waverly said proudly. 

Wynonna shook her head and looked up at her sister," Mhmm. Aren't you going to have some?" she said while in the middle of chewing.

"Nope, it's not vegan. And I'm personally not really in the sugar mood," Waverly said, standing up and grabbing the few remaining plates and wiping crumbs into a napkin.

"It's so good, Auntie Wave! Can I have more mommy?" Alice asked, looking up at Wynonna with wide eyes and frosting smeared across her face.

Wynonna laughed and put down the last bit of cake on her fork and reached for the serving knife. "Just a small piece and your last one," she said softly.

Alice smiled and started to eat her piece of cake the moment it hit her plate. Wynonna knew that she was going to have a sugar rush and not be able to go to sleep that night, but she didn't mind. She was glad Alice was enjoying herself, she loved seeing her happy.

Everyone ate their cake and had a light-hearted conversation while Waverly did the dishes and cleaned the kitchen. She hated that she left the kitchen in such disarray, she had a lot of dishes to do and knew she'd have to wash some by hand because it wasn't all going to fit in the dishwasher.

It took 20 minutes to get through all the dishes when it normally took her about 10. She had a lot of pots and pans to wash and a lot of plates to put in the dishwasher, let alone wiped down the dirty stovetop and counter. 

She followed the rest of her family into the living room where they were watching _Finding Nemo_ with Alice. 

"Where's Nicole?" Waverly asked, looking around not finding her on the couch with Wynonna or the floor with Alice. 

Wynonna shrugged her shoulders, not taking her eyes off the TV. "She hasn't come down yet." 

Waverly furrowed her brows in confusion, considering how tired Hazel seemed to be she didn't think it would take her long to be put down. 

"I'm gonna go see what's taking her so long," Waverly said, turning around and heading up the stairs. 

She quickly ascended up the stairs and walked into the nursery, finding Nicole in the rocking chair with Hazel in her arms. Hazel was staring right up at Nicole sucking at her pacifier, and she looked wide awake. 

"Nicole?" Waverly asked, shutting the door behind her. 

Nicole looked up and gave Waverly a small smile. "Sorry it's taking so long. I go to change her diaper and by the time I'm done she's wide awake and screams her head off every time I put her down."

Waverly smiled and pulled a chair in the corner and sat next to her just slightly in front of her. 

"She loves cuddles just like her momma," Nicole said, flashing her irresistible dimples at Waverly. She leaned in and gave a chaste kiss to Waverly's forehead before sitting back in the rocking chair before Hazel could start crying again. 

"She loves you, Nicole. She's attached right to your side just like me," Waverly said, gently moving the blanket from Hazel's face so you could see her better. "But, she doesn't love you as much me," she mumbled, leaning in and bringing their lips together for a longer kiss. 

She pulled away and looked lovingly into Nicole's big brown eyes. "Not yet anyway." 

Nicole smiled and looked down at Hazel, who had a crooked smile on her face because of the pacifier in her mouth. Both Nicole and Waverly laughed at the sight, they both couldn't get enough of their adorable daughter. 

"Everyone's watching  _Finding Nemo,_ " Waverly said quietly. 

Another smile ran across Nicole's face as she looked back up at Waverly.  _Finding Nemo_ happened to be one of her favorite movies. 

"I don't think I can leave her," Nicole said, looking back down at Hazel who was snuggled into her arms. 

"I think as long as she's in your arms, she'll be fine. She can fall asleep in your arms on the couch and I can swoon over my adorable wife and precious baby." 

Nicole chuckled and nodded, "I love you," she said with a smile while getting up, keeping Hazel in her spot nuzzled into her arms. 

"I love you too, baby," Waverly said, following her out of the nursery. "We both do, with all our hearts." 

Nicole walked down the stairs cautiously, although rational but unlikely Nicole had a fear of dropping Hazel while walking down the stairs and made sure to take her time, making sure not to fall or slip on anything. 

"I thought you were putting her to bed?" Jeremy asked, seeing them both come back down with Hazel. 

"I tried, she wouldn't let me and I didn't want to take to long up there," Nicole said, getting in her spot on the couch at the L shape of their sectional couch. 

Waverly took her spot right next to Nicole and grabbed a blanket and threw it over them both. She laid her head on her shoulder, cuddled up to her side while looking down at Hazel, who was looking up at both her mommas wide-eyed. 

Nicole craned her head and place a light kiss to Waverly's hairline before reverting her attention back to the TV. While Hazel didn't seem sleepy at all, she finally calmed down and was content laying with her mommies. 

Everyone was finally calmed down and the conversation that started at the beginning of the movie finally stopped. In fact, Robin was asleep all the way at the end of the couch, feet up on the ottoman with Jeremy laying in his lap who was also starting to fall asleep. Doc couldn't stop yawning and Wynonna was drifting off next to Doc, empty whiskey glass on the floor next to her. Alice, on the other hand, was wide awake and glued to the TV screen. Just like Nicole  _Finding Nemo_ was also one of her favorites. 

Waverly was cuddled up to her side who also couldn't stop yawning. She almost never stayed awake for the entire duration of any movie that they watched, but Nicole didn't mind. She loved being cuddled up with her girls and she wouldn't have it any other way.   

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, thank you for the sweet comments! They make my day :) And more importantly, thank you for the understanding and patience in me taking a break. Everything that was really stressing me out is behind me and now it's just regular stress that I can handle pretty well. I love you all! 
> 
> Anyways, I don't know is a 6 month birthday celebration a thing? I don't know, but it's Waverly so I guess it's not that surprising that there was a huge celebration. I just felt like throwing a party in there, necessary or unnecessary.  
> Also maybe you noticed the use of bigger vocabulary... yeah- I'm definitely going to start using bigger words haha. 
> 
> But I really hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! And thank you again for your patience x
> 
> -Also, I couldn't remember if I mentioned what Hazel's hair color was so I just went with a brown, red hair, kinda like Emma Stone, one of my top favorite actresses!


	15. Calm in the Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nicole and Waverly end up in the hospital with Hazel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys. Sorry for the lack of- everything really. There has just been a lot going on... I think that's obvious because my writing at the end is very rushed. Please just bear with me and thank you guys so much for the positive feedback. I love you all x

Nicole woke up to the smell of something that hasn't been made in this house since before Hazel: biscuits and gravy. And the best part, they were made by Waverly herself. 

Even though her wife was vegan, Waverly's mother had left an unearthly recipe for biscuits and gravy, the best biscuits and gravy Nicole had ever had. They rarely had them anymore; they weren't in their early 20s anymore where they could eat anything they wanted. They maintained strict diets, because one- they had a daughter and they had to teach her healthy eating habits, and two- they wanted to stay in good shape. 

Nicole sat up in bed and rubbed the sleep from her eyes, breathing in the delicious breakfast that was awaiting her downstairs. She got out of bed and fixed her wrinkled tank top and threw on some sweatpants and made her way downstairs. 

As she descended the stairs, she started to hear music coming from the kitchen. She couldn't make out what was playing at first, but the further she got down the stairs she could hear that it was John Mayer, one of Waverly's favorite artists. 

She found her in the kitchen, swaying her hips and quietly humming to one of her favorite songs. She loved her wife's love for music and her beautiful singing voice. She always told Waverly that she should start a singing career, but Waverly always said her priority was her family. Nicole couldn't say she wasn't disappointed, but she secretly hoped that Hazel would get her mom's beautiful voice. 

She leaned against the doorway, arms folded against her chest as a huge smile formed on her face. After watching for a minute, Nicole finally decided to place her hands on Waverly's hips and snake her arms around Waverly's middle. Waverly jumped a bit, but soon realized it was Nicole and relaxed into her embrace.

"Morning, beautiful," Nicole whispered, pressing a kiss to Waverly's neck, sending goosebumps down her spine. 

Waverly blushed and a smile formed across her face, she set the knife down she was using to cut fruit and turned around and wrapped her arms around her neck, playing with her baby hairs. She leaned in and planted a soft kiss to Nicole's lips. 

"Morning," she mumbled against her lips. 

Nicole smiled and lifted her onto the counter, catching her off guard and causing Waverly to erupt in a fit of giggles. 

"Hm, someone woke up in a good mood," Waverly said, wrapping her legs around Nicole’s waist and pulling her closer. 

"How could I not?" she said with a smile, laying her head on Waverly's chest and relaxing in her arms. "You look hot in sweats and a tank top. Oh, tattered and stained sweatpants I might add," knowing that last comment is going to get a rise out of Waverly.

"Hey!" Waverly said, pulling away and looking down into Nicole's eyes. "It was the first thing I threw on this morning. And I do not look good in it, no one would! They're so beaten and dirty. "

Nicole smiled and looked up at Waverly who had a huge smirk on her face. She had to admit that it was nice to look up to her wife for once; it was a nice change. 

"Fine, wear nothing, it doesn't matter to me," Nicole said, attempting to break away from Waverly, but her legs tightened around her waist and pulled her even closer. 

"You're a pain in the ass," Waverly said, rolling her eyes and wrapping her arms around Nicole's neck and playing with her baby hairs. 

"You married me," Nicole said with a mischievous smile. "And now you're stuck with me."

"Best decision I ever made," Waverly said, giving Nicole one last peck on the lips before letting her go and hopping off the counter.

"Damn straight," Nicole said before walking over to the stove and opening the lid to the big pot of sausage gravy that was stewing on the stove. She took a big breath, taking in the delectable aromas that were dancing around her nose. 

Nicole was pulled from her biscuits and gravy by the baby monitor going off right next to the stove. She glanced over to the clock that read 9:25, she furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. Hazel never slept past 8, Nicole could count on one hand the amount of time Hazel slept in. 

"Hazel slept late today," she said, clicking off the monitor. 

"She woke up twice last night," Waverly said grabbing some fresh fruit from the fridge. "Took at least 40 minutes or so to put her back down. I think some more baby teeth are coming." 

 "Poor baby," Nicole said with a frown. Nicole knew teething was only for a while, but she still hated that Hazel was having such a hard time with it. 

Nicole made her way upstairs while Waverly finished up breakfast. She opened the door to the nursery to Hazel crying and squirming in her crib. 

"Hi sweetheart," Nicole said walking over and picking up a distraught Hazel. "Shh, you're ok baby. Let's get your diaper changed, maybe that'll make you feel better." 

She laid Hazel down on her changing table and unzipped her 'Mommies New Alarm Clock.' She gently pulled her arms out of then took the rest of it, working around the fact that Hazel was wiggling and making it near impossible for Nicole to change her at all. She undid her diaper, which was full, wrapped it up and threw it in the garbage. She grabbed a new diaper, put on some baby powder and fixed the straps. She didn't bother getting a onesie considering Hazel was just about to eat and they didn't want to dirty up another outfit. 

"C'mon Haze, let's go have some breakfast. Mommy fixed some fresh fruit," she said, picking her up and kissing her on the head before heading back downstairs to join Waverly. 

"There's my girl!" Waverly said with a smile, setting down the knife and wiping her hands with a towel. A happy, somewhat toothless smile formed on Hazel's face at the sight of seeing her momma. 

Waverly took Hazel in her arms and kissed her on her chubby little cheek, holding her tightly in her arms. "My sleepy little girl, I bet you're hungry huh?" 

Nicole smiled at the sight of her girls, the moment she saw Waverly covered in beer behind the bar, she knew she was the one for her. She had to admit, she had no idea what she was doing, of course, she had dated before, but with Waverly, she was completely beside herself. She could never think straight or form a cohesive sentence for at least the first three dates. Nicole always said that it was embarrassing, but Waverly insisted it was adorable.

"Here, I thought we could try some oatmeal and barley peach cereal for the first time," she said setting Hazel in her highchair. 

"Well, if she's anything like her momma. She won't like oatmeal," Nicole said with a slight chuckle.

Nicole tried oatmeal for the first time with Waverly. It was just a simple Saturday morning, and Nicole had gotten home late from work. Waverly decided that she should eat something nutritious for breakfast instead of the usual granola bar or cereal she usually had, so she made some oatmeal with raisins with different assortments of fruit on the side. Waverly promised her that it was good and she threatened to never have sex with her again if she didn't try it, so of course, Nicole tried the new food and immediately spat it out. She said that it had the consistency of boogers and tasted like dirt and bread and ever since then she never had it again. 

"Well that'll be another thing you have in common with her," Waverly said grabbing the small bowl of oatmeal and baby spoon. "You also have the palette of a 6-month-old." 

"Hey! I'm just a picky eater," Nicole said in defense. "I don't trust anything that looks and has the consistency of boogers." 

"Ok, sweetie. Whatever you say." Waverly smiled and gave her wife on a peck on the cheek to help console the cute little pout that was starting to form on her face. "Y'know you're pretty cute when you pout."

Nicole couldn't help but form a small smile; she could never stay mad at her wife. No matter what fights they got in, they always made up, and they never stayed mad at each other. 

Waverly put the littlest bit of oatmeal on Hazel's baby spoon and brought it up to her mouth. Hazel looked at it for a second and opened her mouth, Waverly fed her and both Nicole and Waverly awaited her reaction. 

She ate fairly quickly and opened her happily opened her mouth for more. 

"Well, I guess I'm the only one with the palette of a 6-month-old in the family," Nicole mumbled jokingly. 

Waverly rolled her eyes and smiled. "I bought some more 'Froot Loops' for you. They're in the pantry." 

Nicole smiled and squeezed Waverly's bicep before getting up and walking into the kitchen. She had what Waverly called a 'cereal addiction.' She had them every day for breakfast since she was a kid, throughout college in the dining hall, and even into her adult and married life. Froot Loops and Cheerios being a particular favorite. 

"Have I told you how much I love you lately?" she asked with a smirk, pouring herself a heaping bowl of Froot Loops. 

Waverly laughed and fed Hazel another spoonful. "I believe so, yes." 

Nicole smiled and ate her Froot Loops as she watched Waverly feed their daughter. Sometimes she wondered how in the world she became so lucky to find and marry her best friend. She knew she didn't deserve Waverly. She was a thousand times better than Nicole thought she would ever be and she somehow was baffled how she ended up with the most beautiful girl she had ever laid eyes on. 

Nicole was pulled from her thoughts but the clang of the bowl being put in the sink next to her. 

"I got her," Nicole said, carefully lifting Hazel up from her high chair making sure not to get any spilled oatmeal on her clothes. As they made their way upstairs Hazel's bottom lip started to quiver and you could see tears welling in her eyes. 

"What's wrong, baby?" Nicole asked, kissing her on the forehead. "You miss mommy already? Don't worry; we'll be back downstairs before you know it."

Hazel was very much in need of a bath, especially having oatmeal all over her. While she started to take Hazel's diaper off, she noticed a small red rash on Hazel's face, unsure of what it was she looked closer. There were a bunch of red patches spread across her face, and her stomach was extremely bloated. And on top of that  Nicole wasn't normally one to freak out, but this time she could feel her pulse quicken and her heartbeat speed up. Hazel would not stop crying and started screaming louder the more Nicole examined her rash. 

"Waverly!" Nicole shouted from the bathroom. "Waverly get up here!" panic creeping in her voice. 

You could hear the quick stomp of Waverly's shoes coming quickly up the stairs. 

"What?! What's wrong? Is Hazel ok?" she asked, opening the door quickly and kneeling next to her wife. 

"Look at the rash and her tummy, she doesn't look ok, and she won't stop crying!" Nicole said hysterically. 

Waverly looked closely at her, ignoring Nicole's hysterics for the time being. 

"We should take her to the hospital, Waverly said calmly. 

"What? What's wrong with her Wave?!"

Waverly picked up Hazel and stood up, Nicole standing up as well. 

"Take a breath baby," Waverly said over Hazel's loud cries. "I think she's having an allergic reaction, probably to the oatmeal we had today. Why don't you go start the car and get her diaper bag ready and I'll get her in some new clothes and a new diaper." 

Nicole sighed and nodded, turning around and quickly heading down the stairs. She wasn't sure how Waverly was staying so calm in this situation. Usually, it was the opposite way around, Waverly was the one freaking out, and Nicole was the one calming down. 

She grabbed keys from the key rack, grabbed the diaper bag and shoved everything in that she thought they would need. Her pacifier, some toys, baby food, diapers and wipes, and there were already a few extra pairs of clothes. She quickly rushed to the car and tossed the bag in the back and put the key in the ignition. 

"You're going to be ok Hazey," Waverly cooed, quickly heading out the door with Hazel still wailing in her arms. "Your mommies are right here; we're not going to let anything bad happen to you."

"Wave's she's going to be ok right?" Nicole asked with panic in her voice, turning around in the drivers street. 

"I think so," Waverly said buckling the last strap of her car seat. She reached over and grabbed her pacifier from the diaper bag. "If I'm right, it's just an allergic reaction, and we caught it early. She doesn't seem to be having a severe reaction to it. Just relax, baby. Everything is going to be just fine." 

Nicole nodded and turned back around while Waverly got into the passenger's seat. She quickly pulled out of the driveway and drove as quickly as she could while still following the speed limit. Nicole decided to drop Waverly off at the entrance and find parking while Waverly got them checked in.  

"How can I help you miss?" a nurse politely asked from behind the counter in the emergency room. 

"I think my daughter is having an allergic reaction to something. She has a rash, and her stomach is very bloated. I just got her to stop crying," Waverly said, motioning toward the pacifier Hazel was intently sucking on. 

"Ok, ma'am," the nurse said, leading them toward a quiet room further into the ER. "We'll give you a quiet room for some privacy. I'm Nurse Jackie."

"Nice to meet you," Waverly said with a smile, sitting down in a chair with Hazel on her lap. 

"I do have to check her vitals, is she up to date with her vaccines?"

Waverly nodded, "Yes, just about a month was when she got them last." 

"Ok, great," she said, checking things off on her clipboard.

The nurse took her blood pressure, heart rate, and gently opened her mouth to see if there was a reaction going on internally. She went to go pick her up and place her on the examination table when Hazel threw up all over her. 

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" Waverly said apologetically. She grabbed Hazel and looked around furiously for anything to help clean up the mess that had been made.

"Don't worry about it," the nurse said with a smile. "This happens all the time; we're all pretty used to it. No worries." She opened a cupboard and grabbed a bunch of blue towels and wiped up the mess as best she could. 

"Hey baby," Nicole said, opening the door and making a beeline for the chair next to them. "How is she doing?"

"Doctor should be here soon?" Waverly asked, looking up to the nurse for reassurance. 

"Yes, she should be here in a few minutes. Good news is I agree that this probably is an allergic reaction," she said with a smile. 

Nicole stood up and extended her hand. "I'm sorry; I'm Nicole Haught."

The nurse shook her hand and smiled at both of them. "Nice to meet you both; the doctor should be in soon."

As the nurse exited the room, Nicole took Hazel in her arms and started smothering her in kisses. She sat down on the examination table and leaned back, letting Hazel lay on her chest. It was apparent Hazel just wanted her mommies. 

"Thank you," Nicole said quietly. 

"For what?"

"For staying so calm throughout all of this. I'm freaking out right now." 

Waverly smiled and kissed Nicole's temple. "Don't worry, I'm freaking out too- on the inside," she said with a wink. "We're a two-man team baby; we balance each other out." 

"I love you Waverly and Hazel love you too," Nicole said leaning up and giving Waverly a kiss on the lips. 

Waverly smiled into the kiss just before looking away and looking in Nicole's eyes lovingly. "I don't want the doctor coming in with us making out on the examination table with our 6 and half month old daughter." 

As if on cue there was a knock on the door. 

"Come in!" Waverly called out. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do you know who the cameo is? Let me know in the comments! 
> 
> Anyway I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter.


	16. Surprise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nicole surprises Waverly after their hospital visit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for the positive feedback :) I really appreciate it and it motivates me to keep writing.

"Come in!" Waverly called out. 

The doctor opened the door and greeted the young family with a bright smile. 

"Hi, I'm Dr. Robbins! I'm the Head of Pediatrics and Neonatal, it's nice to meet you," she said with a bright smile, extending her hand to Nicole and then to Waverly. 

"It's nice to meet you," Nicole said sitting up with Hazel in her lap. 

"Alright, let's see what we got here," Dr. Robbins said, taking out her stethoscope. "It says here that you fed her oatmeal and barley for breakfast this morning?" she asked while listening to Hazel's heartbeat for a minute before hanging them around her neck again.

"Yes we did, I think it's just a gluten allergy," Waverly said calmly. Nicole was just going to let her take the reigns on this and she was just going to be as supportive as she could. 

"Well, the good news is I think you're right and it's nothing more than a gluten allergy. Her heartbeat is perfectly normal." Dr. Robbins got Hazel to gently open her mouth so that she could look inside, thankfully there was no swelling of the throat and everything looked perfectly normal.   

"There's no swelling of the throat. Just some hives and a bloated belly," she said, gently patting Hazel's stomach, causing her to giggle. She looked back up and the young parents and gave another bright smile. "I'm going to have a nurse order up some tests and just to be extra safe I'm going to recommend that she stays the night. With newborns it can sometimes be unpredictable," she said writing on her clipboard. 

"Ok the nurse should be in here soon and I'll be back to check on you later," Dr. Robbins said with one last big smile before exiting the room. 

"Thank you!" Waverly called out before she left. She looked over at Nicole who was holding Hazel up to her face while smothering her cheek with kisses.

"You're going to be just fine Hazel," she said placing another kiss to Hazel's chubby cheek. "Mommy's are here," she said rubbing Hazel's back. 

Waverly sat down next to Nicole and placed her hand on the back of her neck, playing with her baby hairs. 

"Are you ok baby? You seem to be taking this kinda hard," she said softly. 

Nicole sighed and looked at Waverly. "I'm fine. It was just, terrifying. I was taking off her diaper getting ready to give her a bath and I see this red rash. It definitely was not diaper rash, I was just so freaked out something wrong was going on with our baby. My mind started spinning and went to the worst case scenario. And the worst part, I had no idea what to do and normally I can think of at least  _one_ thing that's useful. But I couldn't if you weren't here Waves who knows how I would've handled it." Nicole got a little teary-eyed towards the end of her sentence and looked down at Hazel who was sucking on her fingers. 

Waverly pressed a soft kiss to Nicole's temple and spoke quietly. "It's ok baby, she's ok. She's healthy and it's nothing more than a gluten allergy. It's ok that you freaked out, it's normal. But our daughter is going to be fine." 

Nicole smiled and looked up at her wife, who was looking right back at her with nothing but love in her eyes. No matter the circumstance and no matter how bad things seemed to get, one thing was for certain- Nicole knew she could always fall back on Waverly, and Waverly would be right there to catch her. 

 

****

 

Nicole and Waverly were now set up in a hospital room and Hazel was taking a nap in a hospital crib. Blood work and everything was all done so now they were just waiting for the results. Nicole was the nightstand table to get some paperwork and Waverly was answering some emails on her laptop. It was almost 1 and Wynonna was supposed to bring lunch- an hour ago. So they were both starting to get a little hangry, more specifically Nicole. 

Nicole let out a big sigh and angrily flipped through papers. She didn't even have that much to do, but her grumbling stomach was starting to get to her. 

"You ok, sweetie?" Waverly asked, looking from her laptop. 

"I'm fine, I'm just hungry and I keep making errors on this," she said, gesturing to the few papers in front of her. "Where the hell is Wynonna anyway, I thought she would've taken this situation somewhat seriously and at least been on time," she grumbled. "I'm seriously craving a burger." 

Waverly gave a small smile and put the laptop on a nearby table and got up and walked over to Nicole. She wrapped her arms around her shoulders from behind and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Feeling better?"

Instantly did Nicole feel better and more relaxed. Something as simple as her wife's touch could change her mood in an instant. She fell back into Waverly's embrace and craned her head and looked up to her. She smiled and leaned in for a proper kiss on the lips. 

"A little bit, I think I need some more encouragement," she said with a smirk. 

Waverly smiled and gave a deeper and longer kiss on Nicole's lips. She pulled away and looked at her wife in the eyes. "How about now?"

"Maybe a little more."

Waverly giggled and unwrapped herself from Nicole. "Keep talking and you might get yourself laid." 

"Might?! Guess I have to work on my flirting," she mumbled. 

"Hey," Waverly said turning back around and walking back towards Nicole. "The only flirting you get to do is on me," she chastised, trying to hide the obvious smile forming on her face. She moved the paperwork out of the way and sat on Nicole's lap, sliding her arms around her neck. 

"The only one I'd want to flirt on is with you," Nicole said softly, looking lovingly into Waverly's eyes. "It's only you Waverly, it's always been you. The moment I saw you beer soaked in Shorty's I knew there was no one else I'd want to be with." 

Waverly blushed and placed her lips on Nicole's for a sweet and slow kiss. She brought her hand up and gently cupped her face. Unfortunately for them their kiss only lasted about 5 seconds before Wynonna quiet loudly interrupted. 

"I got food!" Wynonna exclaimed proudly holding up a paper bag. "Oh," she said smirking at Nicole and Waverly who were entangled in each other. "Trying to get it on in the hospital room, eh? When the Hazel is 3 feet away from you? Bold." 

Waverly rolled her eyes and placed one last quick kiss to Nicole's temple before getting off her lap. "Shh, Hazel is sleeping, I don't want her to wake up." 

Wynonna nodded and placed the bag on the table. 

"I got you a quinoa bowl from that place you really like," she said pulling it out of the bag and handing it to Waverly. 

"And Haught I got you a burger," she said, handing the rest of the bag to Nicole. 

"Thanks, Wynonna you're a real lifesaver," she said. "Even if you're an hour late." She winked at her sister-in-law. 

"In my defense, I just finished putting Alice down for a nap and you had just texted when  _I_ was starting to fall asleep for mine. I answered and then passed out," she said plopping herself on the couch and laying her feet across it. "Thank the garbage dudes for waking me up. They're so damn loud." 

Both Nicole and Waverly ravenously ate their food. It was like they hadn't eaten in years. 

"How is she?" Wynonna asked, pulling out a small flask from her leather jacket. 

"Wynonna!" Waverly scolded. "Really? In the hospital, with your sleeping niece right there!?" she whisper-yelled pointing to Hazel who was starting to wake up in her crib. 

"Well you tried to get it on just before I walked in so, you're not one to judge," Wynonna said, taking a long swig and putting it back. 

Throughout all the commotion Hazel started to wake up. The first thing that came out of her mouth was a cry, her pacifier fell out and she looked up looking for her mommy's. 

Waverly sighed and shot a look at Wynonna before going to pick up Hazel. 

"Sorry sweetie," Waverly said picking up Hazel and placing a kiss to her cheek. "We didn't mean to wake you." She held her close and rubbed her back, trying to console the sleep deprived little girl. She missed both her morning and afternoon nap because of all the doctor and visits. 

Hazel continued to cry but started to calm down the more she was in Waverly's arms. Poor thing has been poked and prodded by doctors, so Waverly was glad she was able to get a nap in. 

"Why don't you hang out with Auntie Wynonna while I eat," she said, handing Hazel off to Wynonna. 

"C'mon Hazel, let's go check out some of the other babies in daycare. Maybe we can get you a date with one of the boy babies," she said getting up from the couch and heading for the door. "We'll let your mommies eat. 

"Hey! My daughter will not be dating! Ever!" Nicole called out with a mouth full of food. 

Wynonna smirked as she walked down the hallway out of sight. 

"Feeling better?" Waverly asked putting down her fork and smiling at her wife. 

"Yes," she said wiping her mouth with a napkin. "A lot better." 

Waverly smiled and continued eating. Their brief lunch was filled with a light-hearted conversation and a few laughs here and there. They made it as comfortable as possible albeit in a hospital room. 

Today had been pretty scary, especially for Nicole. She had no idea what was going on and she hated not knowing. And she hated that she couldn't do anything to help their little girl. She always had to fix things, but in this instance she couldn't and she felt so helpless. It had been a rough day but now they were glad things were getting better.

"Ok, we met 2 booger eaters, 3 hand suckers, and a toddler named Anges. And she ironically and scarily looks like the one from Despicable Me," Wynonna said loudly barging into their hospital room. "Y'know the one that goes 'unicorns!' " she said, attempting to imitate the movie character. 

She didn't even realize that Nicole and Waverly were passed out on the couch until she looked up, it was too late to attempt to be quiet considering they were already starting to wake up. 

"Oh, sorry, I didn't realize you were sleeping. I can come back," Wynonna said turning around and heading for the door. 

"No, no it's ok," Waverly said, motioning her hand telling them to come back. Waverly yawned and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. Nicole squeezed Waverly's thigh before getting up and taking Hazel in her own arms. 

"How was she?" Nicole asked, pressing a kiss to Hazel's forehead. Hazel smiled at the touch of her momma. 

"Good, but her butthole is pretty explosive," Wynonna said nonchalantly. 

Waverly pursed her lips in confusion and gave her sister a look. "What?"

"She shit like 3 times while we were out, 3! We were only out for a little over an hour!" Wynonna said pumping a ton of hand sanitizer in her hands. 

Nicole chuckled and smiled down at her daughter who was laying her head down on her chest. "Doctor said that might happen, especially since it's her first allergic reaction."

"So what does that mean? She can't have bread?" Wynonna asked. 

"Yeah, she's gluten-free. She might grow out of it when she gets older but doc says it's probably unlikely," Waverly said. "Thank for getting lunch and letting us get a little time to sleep." 

Wynonna smiled at her sister. "No problem baby girl. As much as I'd love to stay and change her every 10 minutes," she said pointing to Hazel. "I promised a certain 3-year-old some time at the park and if I don't take her I won't hear the end of it." 

"That's fine, Wynonna," Nicole said. "Thank you again, if we need anything we'll let you know."

Wynonna gave them both a quick hug before walking out of their room to go get Alice. 

After Wynonna left Dr. Robbins came back in, smiling cheerfully at the young couple. "Great news guys. Hazel's recent test results came in and she is all set. Her levels are good and her reaction calmed down pretty quick. So no need to stay the night, you guys are all set to go!" 

"Wow?! Really? That's great!" Nicole said happily. 

"I think she's going to be just fine for the rest of the night so there's no reason for her to be staying here."

Waverly pulled Dr. Robbins into a hug, which surprised their doctor, but she smiled and hugged back nonetheless. 

"Thank you so much Dr. Robbins!" 

Dr. Robbins laughed and smiled back at the brunette. "You're welcome. Please, let me know if there are any troubles, call me night or day"

"Thank you so much again," Nicole said, grabbing Hazel's diaper bag and slinging it over her shoulder. 

"I'll get you your discharge papers and you should be all set!" 

 

***

 

It had been a few hours since they returned home and it was getting to be late afternoon. Hazel was down for her second nap of the day and Waverly was sitting on the couch watching TV. Nicole calm walking down the stairs in her uniform and boots, which caught Waverly by surprise. 

"Did you get called in?" Waverly asked, muting the TV and getting up from the couch. 

"Yeah, sorry baby. Wynonna called and said she needed help with something, she didn't tell me what but she said it was kinda urgent," Nicole said grabbing her keys. "But if you need me here with you and Hazel I can stay." 

Waverly smiled but shook her head no. "I think we should be fine, how long are you going to be at the station?" 

"Not sure, probably a few hours. I should be home in time for dinner." Nicole threw on her coat and wrapped her arms around Waverly's waist and pulled her close. She smiled down at the brunette in her arms leaned in for a quick kiss. 

"I love you, I'll be back soon." 

 

***

 

 

Nicole walked into the station and walked up to Wynonna who had her feet up on the desk and was happily gorging on a large donut and a coffee. Nothing in the station looked like an emergency and Nicole could feel herself getting frustrated. 

"Wynonna what the hell? This doesn't look like an emergency to me," Nicole said taking off her coat. 

Wynonna nodded and took her feet off the desk and swallowed her donut. 

"Yeah um about that," she said, motioning her hands for Nicole to walk over. 

Nicole raised her eyebrows in confusion but followed Wynonna nonetheless. 

"What?"

"Look," Wynonna said, standing at the corner of Nicole's office and peering in.

Nicole had no idea what she was doing but looked through the window to find a little boy and a little baby girl in a carrier. The little boy seemed to be about 3 and the little girl seemed to be around a year old.

"What's, uh, whose kids are they?" Nicole asked genuinely confused about what Wynonna was trying to tell her.

"I don't know! Danny Shay and Henry Price were parading through the trailer park and found them living in an abandoned trailer. No adults, they were living off a bag of chips, some carrots, and water bottles," Wynonna said walking back to her desk and leaning against it. 

"What? They were completely alone, no parent's nothing?" Nicole asked, completely astounded. 

"Nothing, dudes around the trailer park said they've never seen them before. Shay and Price said that the little dude was feeding his baby sister some bottles of baby food when they walked in. He doesn't talk much, he wouldn't tell me his or his sisters name. All I got out of him was that they've been in there since the beginning of April. He fed her  _and_ changed her, at 3! He even made sure to ration their food and water." 

"No mother, no father, just them two?" Nicole asked, staring at the little ones in her office. 

"Yep, just them two, no one's seen them, I've never seen them. When Shay and Price brought them they were wearing some really ratty clothes and the little girl was wearing nothing but a t-shirt and a makeshift diaper out of the boy's clothes. Thank God Nedley was smart and kept a stash of baby clothes in the back. He was the only one that wanted to prepare in case of this situation, no matter how many people told him he didn’t need to worry. Old dude's a good planner." 

Wynonna took a sip of her coffee and stared at the ground, processing what just came out of her mouth. Nothing like this has ever happened in Purgatory, not since Wynonna had been here. She genuinely had no idea what to do.

"Do you have any idea who they could belong to?" Nicole asked, wondering what the best thing to do in this situation was. 

"Nope, no idea. I plan on having them put in the newspaper, hopefully, someone will recognize them." It fell silent for a minute, both of them trying to wrap their minds around the situation. 

Nicole nodded, "I'm going to see what I can do," she said. She looked over at the donut box and grabbed one and a couple of napkins, she wasn't really sure what she was planning on doing with it though. She walked to her office door and braced herself. 

"Good luck, I could barely get those few facts of information out of him." 

Nicole nodded her head and took a deep breath in before opening the door. She was unsure what to expect, she had these frightened toddlers in her office. They had no idea who the parents were and if Nicole was being completely honest with herself, she had no idea what to do. 

Nicole decided to take it slow and feel them out, seeing how they would react to her. She sat at her desk and pulled out her keyboard and turned on her computer. She went over to Spotify and played some feel-good music, hoping maybe that would lighten the mood. She took a huge bite of one donut and moaned. 

"Mm, so good," Nicole said, not even looking over at the toddler that was staring at her. She took another bite of her donut before setting it down on her desk, making sure to set it as close to the edge of possible, hoping gain some trust between the two of them. 

"Oops, forgot my pen," Nicole said nonchalantly. She got up from her desk and walked back out past the full holder of pens right next to her computer. She walked over to Wynonna who was looking at them through the window. 

"No luck?" Wynonna asked, handing Nicole a cup of coffee.  

Nicole gave a weak smile and grabbed the cup, but hushed Wynonna. 

"Shh," she said, looking back over to her office. 

The little boy was now standing up right next to her desk, staring directly at the donut. You could tell that he was pondering the thought of whether to take it. He turned his head toward Nicole, seeing if she was looking at him. Nicole was smart and looked away quickly to make it seem she was talking to Wynonna. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him take the donut and take a big bite, he then pulled off a piece and gave it his sister. 

Nicole decided to walk back into her office, hoping that she could get him to talk, at least tell her what their names were. 

"I'm always forgetting my pen," Nicole said with a slight chuckle. "Man do I have a lot of paperwork," she said sitting down. She opened her file and pulled out a few papers and started filling them out.

"How's the donut?" Nicole asked in a calm tone.

There were a few seconds of silence but Nicole very quietly heard a little voice in the corner. 

"Good," the little boy said, so quietly that Nicole could barely hear it. 

"They are pretty good aren't they?" Nicole said. "You see that girl out there?' she looked up and looked over at Wynonna before quickly turning her attention to the papers in front of her. "She is obsessed with donuts and knows the best spot in town." 

The little boy gave the piece of the donut to his sister, which she happily accepted and took a bite of. 

"Want another one? We have plenty left," Nicole said setting down her pen and looking over at the little boy. 

He nodded his head and Nicole smiled and got up from her desk and walked out of her office. He followed her and shyly waited at the door, watching her every move. 

"Chocolate frosted or glazed?" Nicole asked, looking over her shoulder, waiting for his answer. She noticed Wynonna curiously staring at both of them. He didn't say anything and just stared at her with the saddest and scared look in his eyes. Nicole's heart broke and all she wanted to do was wrap him up in her arms and give him a hug, but she refrained for now and grabbed the chocolate frosted. 

"Here you go," she said, handing the donut to the boy. He quickly took it and ran back to his sister and tore off a piece and gave it to her before taking a bite. One thing Nicole seemed to pick up that was pretty obvious was that he loved his sister. He always made sure she was taken care of before he even thought about taking care of himself. 

"I must say, Haught, I'm impressed," Wynonna said quietly. 

"Thanks," Nicole said, watching the boy and his sister interact with one another. "What are we going to do Wynonna? They obviously have no place to stay." 

Wynonna shrugged her shoulders and sighed. "I guess we have to call social services, they're probably going to go into foster care." 

"Foster care?!" Nicole said a little too loudly, causing the boy to look up. "Wynonna they can't go into foster care, they might get split up,” she said quietly, trying not to worry him. “I've seen this stuff when I was interning in Toronto, so many go into foster care and so many get split up. Half of the people do it for the money and they get thrown around, home to home. Once they become to much work they get thrown out and it starts all over again. They've been through hell, the last thing we want to do is split them up." 

"There's nothing else we can really do Haught!" Wynonna whisper yelled, frustration creeping in her voice. "Legally we have to call social services and if there is another family member alive they have first-hand parental rights. I'm sorry to be the hardass here Haught but I'm calling social services," Wynonna said coldly, turning around and heading back to her desk. 

Nicole sighed and she could feel herself getting frustrated, she knew what it was like to feel unwanted and unloved. Granted her situation wasn't as bad as their's but she knew what it felt like to feel hopeless, and that was written all over his face. It broke Nicole's heart, she already felt so much for these kids and it had only been 20 minutes. She decided that the best thing to do right now was to gain their trust and try to get as much information as possible. 

She walked back into her office but not before grabbing a Horizon Organic chocolate milk. Even though it was a kid's drink, Wynonna drank it almost as much as whiskey and demanded that they have some in the fridge. 

"Here," she said shaking it up, smiling at the little boy. 

He took it and poked the straw through it, he gave his sister the first sip before taking one. 

She watched them interact and pondered what she was going to say without being to forward. 

"Good?" 

The little boy shook his head and continued to drink his chocolate milk. 

"I don't believe I've introduced myself. I'm Nicole," she said smiling down at the little boy who was looking right back at her wide-eyed. "What's your name?"

"Levi," he said quietly. "This is my sister, Ferryn." 

"How old are you Levi?" she asked calmly. 

"Four, Ferryn is one." 

"Where are your parent's buddy?" 

Levi looked up at Nicole and back down, you could see the fear in his eyes, he was scared of saying something wrong. 

Nicole sensed this and slowly got up and sat down next to him on the couch, keeping her distance so she didn't scare him. 

"It's ok, you can tell me. I just want to know what's going on," she said softly. 

"Mommy left, I don't know where she went." 

"What about Daddy?"

He shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t really see him." 

Nicole nodded and took this information in. She had a million questions running through her mind. Where were their parents? What happened to their mother? She had so many but knew better than to bombard the four-year-old with questions. 

"How long ago did mommy leave?"

He shrugged his shoulders again and looked up at Nicole. 

"Was it longer than a week ago?" 

He nodded, "She left after my birthday party."

"When's your birthday?"

"April 2."

Nicole was just about to wrap him up in her arms and never let go. They had been alone in that trailer for almost a month, alone, with no parents. Nicole was furious with their parents, she didn't know who in their right mind would just abandon their kids.

"Do you have any aunt's or uncles that you know of?" 

He shook his head. "I have a grandpa, but he died." 

Nicole nodded and looked up at Wynonna, hoping she would know what to do. Wynonna shook her head no, telling Nicole not to get too attached. 

"I'll be right back," Nicole said, getting up slowly and walking towards Wynonna. 

"Levi and Ferryn," Nicole said standing across from Wynonna. "That's their names. Wynonna where are they going to stay? It's getting to be late." 

"I called Mrs. Grutski, y’know crazy cat lady and well known baby sitter back in the day, she said she would take them until we can get social services here," Wynonna said. 

Nicole shook her head in disbelief, the stifled a laugh just at the thought of them staying with her. "No, no. I'm not letting them stay with Mrs. Grutski. For one thing, she likes to wipe your face with a thumb she just spit on and another thing she's no fun, plus she has about a million cats. She invited me in for tea after I returned her lost cat, the worst 30 minutes of my life. It's not happening."

"Well, you got any better ideas?" Wynonna asked, putting her hands on her hips, exasperated. 

Nicole thought for a minute, considering her options. "They can stay with me," she said, the words coming out of her mouth before she could stop herself. 

Wynonna chortled and looked at Nicole in disbelief. "You're kidding, right? You barely have enough room for the three of you, let alone another 2! It's not a good idea Nicole." 

"I'm not letting him stay with a complete stranger! An old school, very weird stranger!" Nicole exclaimed. 

"You're a stranger to him, Nicole!" Wynonna said loudly. 

"Shh! We don't want to scare them even more," Nicole said. "And besides, I got him to tell me their names, at least now I'm not a  _complete_ stranger, which Mrs. Grutski is going to be to them. In the meantime I’ll work on getting my foster license so I know they’re in good hands.”

Wynonna glared at Nicole and thought for a minute before answering. "Fine, but I'm warning you, Nicole, it's not a good idea." 

Nicole gave a weak smile and got up and walked back into her office. She kneeled down in front of him and have a warm smile. 

"So, I don’t want you staying in that old, dirty trailer again. I was thinking you could stay with me and my wife. We have a daughter that's just a little younger than your sister. Is that alright?" Nicole asked, keeping her tone as friendly as possible. 

Levi didn't answer for a minute but shook his head yes. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not Dr. Shae Pressman, but maybe I'll have her come up in another chapter.... But Dr. Arizona Robbins, my favorite character from Grey's! 
> 
> Also, taking a bit of 'The Fosters' twist on this series, another show that I really enjoy! I'm really excited to see how this plays out and I hope you are too! As you can probably tell I go for more uncommon names, I really like the name Levi and Ferryn. Ferryn is English and I saw it on Pinterest and fell in love with it! I know it's a bit unusual but I hope you can bear with me. Also, keep in mind I'm not a lawyer and I don't know anything about social services, so some stuff might be off so I apologize for that!
> 
> Thank you guys for reading and I hope you enjoy:)


	17. It's A Lot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Waverly, Nicole, and Wynonna talk.

"Hey baby," Waverly said from the stove. "Just in time, dinner is ready. I made Hazel a mashed sweet potato." Waverly opened the oven and the delicious aroma of baked ziti filled the room. "I also baked some brownies. Vegan-friendly of course." 

Waverly set the ziti on the dinner table and turned around to give her a wife a kiss, but instead was greeted with her wife holding a baby in her arms and a terrified little boy at her feet. Her eyes widened and her mouth went agape, but she quickly covered it with her hand.  

"Nicole," she started with a very serious tone in her voice. 

"Can we talk?" Nicole asked, interrupting Waverly before she could continue. She bent down and smiled at Levi. "Why don't you take a seat over there and we'll be right in, ok?" She pointed over to the dinner table. Levi nodded and headed over and hopped in a seat, he looked over Hazel and watched her every move. Nicole kept Ferryn in her arms and walked Waverly to the living room. 

"Nicole is there something you want to tell me?" Waverly asked, crossing her arms. 

"Ok, when Wynonna called me and said that something was urgent this was what she meant," Nicole said, gesturing to the one-year-old in her arms and the four-year-old sitting patiently at the dinner table. 

"Ok, that still doesn't explain the two toddlers you brought home," Waverly said, getting a little frustrated. 

"Wynonna said they were living abandoned in the trailer park, they've been alone for about a month. Levi changed her diapers and fed her and everything, at four years old. Wynonna said she was going to call social services and that they were going to go into foster care. But I couldn't let that happen, I don't want them getting split up, especially after everything they've been through. So I plan on getting my foster license because I can't bear the thought of just sending them off into the system," Nicole said quickly. 

"Alright stop," Waverly said holding out her hands. "Take a breath. So they're abandoned, no one knows who the parents are, and they're going to go into foster care?" Waverly asked, putting her hands on her hips. 

"Yes," Nicole said, running her hands through her hair in exasperation. "I know it's such a big decision and we didn't talk about it at all, I'm sorry. But I just couldn't do it, Waves." 

Waverly could see the heartbreak and sadness in Nicole's eyes.

"While I admire you for your big heart, we should've talked about this. I'm not even sure if we have enough room for 3 kids, room in the house  _and_ our schedules. We can barely take time for one," Waverly said with a sigh. 

"I know, I know," Nicole said quietly. "I'm sorry." 

"How long are we going to have them?" Waverly asked. 

Nicole went sheepish, she didn't want to answer the question because she didn't feel like upsetting Waverly. But she knew telling the truth was better than lying to her partner. 

"I don't know," she said quietly. 

Waverly sighed and brought her hands up to her eyes in frustration. 

"Nicole," she started. 

"We can talk about this later and I promise I'll get more info. But right now we have a terrified toddler in our dining room," Nicole said. 

Waverly nodded and turned around and walked into the dining room. Giving Levi the warmest smile she could. 

"Hi Levi, I'm Waverly, I'm Nicole's wife," she said. "And this is our daughter, Hazel." 

Levi shook his head and look at the food in front of him. "I'm hungry." 

Nicole gave a small laugh and sat down with Ferryn in her arms, across from Waverly, adjacent to Levi. "How could you be? I gave you two donuts! Two! Where are you storing it all?" Nicole said, bringing a hand to Levi's stomach and tickling it a little, causing the little boy to give a small smile- something Nicole hasn't seen since she met him. 

Waverly grabbed the booster seat that they kept for Alice and put it on Levi's seat, making it a little easier for him. 

"Um, Waves, what should we feed Ferryn? I've been taking it month by month with the food thing, I'm afraid we've jumped ahead by about 6," Nicole said, looking down at the little girl sucking on her fingers. 

"She likes the peaches in a can," Levi said quietly. 

"We have some fresh ones in the fridge, Nicole," Waverly said, serving Levi a small amount of pasta. "That good, sweetie?" 

Levi shook his head yes and grabbed his fork and started eating. Waverly served herself and looked back at Nicole, who was struggling to keep Ferryn in one spot and cut up some peaches. 

"Here," Waverly said getting up. "I'll take her while you get that ready." She took Ferryn into her arms, who looked at Waverly and smiled. "Oh she has teeth," Waverly noted, looking at the little white stubs and full-grown baby teeth in her mouth. 

There was a sudden knock at the door and Waverly looked at Nicole, who shrugged her shoulders and went back to cutting up the peach. 

Waverly walked over and opened the door and saw Wynonna carrying a highchair with a bag slung over her shoulder. 

"Figured you might need it," she said, walking past Waverly and setting the highchair down on Nicole's side of the table, across from Hazel. 

"Oh my, yes. Thank you so much Wynonna we really did," Waverly said shutting the door behind her. 

"Here," she said handing them a bag. "Some of Alice's clothes, until we can get the new ones. The manliest one I could find was a red t-shirt with Tow Mater on it."

"Wow, once again, Wynonna Earp saving the day," Nicole said with a bit of sarcasm in her voice. 

"Stop it," Wynonna feigned. "You're making me blush." They all laughed and Waverly put Ferryn in the new highchair they just acquired. 

"Thank's again, Wynonna," Waverly said, grabbing the bowl of peaches and putting some on the tray for Ferryn to eat. "At least they have a clean pair of clothes until I can get them something new tomorrow morning. 

"So, I think I might stay and help out for tonight. Y'know, help you get settled in?" Wynonna said faintly. 

Waverly gasped sarcastically. "Wow, Wynonna Earp doing 3 good deeds in one day? What happened to you?"

Wynonna rolled her eyes and smiled. "Shut up." 

Nicole smiled and walked over to join her wife and sister-in-law. She wrapped her arm around Waverly's waist. "We actually might take you up on that, I think we might need a little help starting out." 

"Thank you so much Wynonna," Waverly said, wrapping her arms around her sister and pulling her into a hug. "We just made dinner, are you hungry?" 

Wynonna nodded and headed for their liquor cabinet and grabbed a glass and some whiskey. She poured herself a hefty glass of whiskey and sat next to Waverly. She looked at Levi who was staring up at her. 

"Hi," she said awkwardly. 

Levi furrowed his brows and went back to eating. 

"Levi, this is my sister, Wynonna. You probably have seen her at the station," Waverly said contently. 

Levi shook his head and continued eating, Ferryn was slowly but surely eating her peaches. 

Wynonna grabbed the serving spoon and served herself a huge plate of pasta and starting shoving her mouth full. Nicole and Waverly followed, eating and making sure the kids were ok. The dinner was fairly silent, nothing more than a few small conversations between the three of them. Waverly wiped Levi's face every once and a while, trying to keep his clothes as sauce free as possible. 

"Mm, thank you for dinner, baby. It was delicious," Nicole said, leaning back and rubbing her belly. "I'm stuffed." 

"And I'm going to go take a shower," Wynonna said, downing the last of her whiskey. 

"I'll do the dishes," Nicole said, getting up and clearing the table. "What did you think Levi? Was it good?"

Levi gave a weak smile and nodded his head. 

"Let's get you and your sister a bath," Waverly said, holding out her hand, which Levi shyly took. She led them upstairs, taking extra time for Levi, the stairs were a big step for him so it took a little longer. 

Wynonna was in the guest bathroom so they went into Waverly's and Nicole's. She got them undressed and put both of them in the tub. She grabbed some bath toys to entertained them while she washed them off. It was easier than Waverly thought it would be, she wasn't sure if Levi was going to fight the bath or not. 

She got them cleaned and dressed pretty quickly, there was no fuss over the bath or the clothing situation. Ferryn was wearing a very cute pink unicorn onesie and Levi was wearing the red Tow Mater shirt and some of Alice's old joggers. 

"Why don't we watch a movie before bed?" Waverly asked kindly while putting the hair dryer away. 

"Ok," Levi said with a small smile forming on his face. 

Waverly smiled and quickly scooped up Ferryn in her arms before she could crawl away, she was pretty quick for being only a year old. 

"What do you feel like watching?" Waverly asked while taking his hand and guiding him down the stairs. 

He shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know." 

"What are you into?" Waverly asked, waiting for the 4-year-old to reply. 

Levi let go of Waverly's hand and darted over to Ferryn's carrier, he pulled out from a hidden pocket an old and rugged Mickey Mouse stuffed toy. It was tattered and dirty but you could tell he loved it dearly. 

"Mickey!" he said quietly, the happiest the both of them have seen him since he arrived. 

"Wow, I love Mickey too! Should we watch a Mickey Mouse than?" Waverly said, sitting down on the couch and patting the seat next to her, inviting Levi to join her. He fervently ran to the couch and climb on as fast he could. Waverly put a blanket over the both of them and adjusted Ferryn in her arms, who was actually starting to fall asleep. 

"Can we watch a Mickey Mouse Christmas? It's my favorite," he said quietly. 

"Of course we can, buddy," Nicole said, sitting on the other side of Levi with Hazel in her arms, she threw some of the blankets over her legs. 

Nicole grabbed the remote and put the movie on. Everyone was snuggled into the night and Levi seemed to be pretty content at the moment. Ferryn was sound asleep in Waverly's arms and Waverly herself was starting to fall asleep. Nicole lived for nights like these and her heart seemed to be even more full with their two new kids, despite having just met them. Her heart just about exploded at the sight of Waverly holding Ferryn and they were both fast asleep, Levi snuggled up to Nicole's side while starting to fall asleep, and Hazel, fast asleep and content in her momma's arms. It was a peaceful night and Nicole wouldn't want it any other way. 

 

***

 

"Morning, buddy!" Nicole said, putting a stack of chocolate chip pancakes on the dining table. 

"Morning," he said quietly. He walked into the kitchen, Mickey Mouse in hand and crawled onto the chair and onto the counter. He hung his feet over the edge while he watched Nicole cook breakfast. There were pancakes, bacon and eggs, and some avocado toast and fruit. 

"You like pancakes?" Nicole asked, flipping more pancakes on the griddle. 

Levi nodded and continued to swing his feet while sitting on the kitchen counter. He looked around trying to find out where his sister was. 

"Your sister is with Waverly getting her diaper changed," Nicole said, reassuring the little boy. 

Nicole piled some more pancakes onto the big platter on the counter, along with some more bacon and eggs. She set them down on the table and set out glasses, filling Levi's with milk and filling up her and Waverly's coffee mug. She patted the chair for Levi to come to sit, which he did. He slowly climbed off the counter and climbed into his chair. 

"Morning Levi," Waverly said with a smile while walking out of the laundry room with Ferryn in her arms. "I was just changing your sister." She put Ferryn in her high chair, put a bib around her and scooped some scrambled eggs in her tray and let her pick at them. She slowly but surely picked them up and brought them to her mouth. 

"Chocolate chip or plain?" Waverly asked, reaching for the tongs that were sitting next to the platter of food.

"Chocolate chip." 

Waverly nodded and grabbed his plate and served him two small pancakes.

"Eggs and bacon?"

Levi nodded and started kneeling on the chair, leaning against the counter. 

Waverly served him a small piece of bacon and a small serving of eggs. She grabbed his fork and knife and cut it up for him, she then drizzled a little maple syrup onto them. 

"Here you go, buddy."

Levi smiled and grabbed his fork and began eating. 

Waverly and Nicole sat down and started eating, Nicole simultaneously eating her food while feeding Hazel. Levi was slowly eating his food and his sister was happily eating her eggs. Nicole and Waverly never really realized how slowly toddlers tend to eat, Waverly was just about done with the dishes by the time Levi finished. 

Nicole was in charge of getting them ready for the day and Waverly was on kitchen duty. It wasn't the easiest getting three kids dressed without them running off, crying, or refusing to put something on; just like Ferryn who refused to put on a cute hand me down dress from Alice. 

"C'mon sweetie, it's just a dress, it's not going to kill you!" Nicole exclaimed. Hazel and Levi were both dressed, Levi was playing with some of Wynonna's old Hess Trucks and Hazel was sucking on her pacifier squirming around on the floor. Ferryn, on the other hand, was screaming her head off and refused to let that dress come anywhere near her. Whenever Nicole tried to get it on she flung it off.

"Ok, what about some jeans and a t-shirt?" she asked, grabbing for a pink t-shirt and jeans. She went to put that on her too and she just flung it off. "You're killing me here, babe." Nicole sighed and started going through the bag of Alice's old hand me downs, trying to find something she would think the 1-year-old would like.

"What's going on?" Waverly asked, walking into the nursery and kneeling down next to Nicole. 

"She doesn't want to wear anything I try and put her in," Nicole said, looking down at Ferryn who was still screaming and crying. 

"Let me try," Waverly said, grabbing the dress that was laying next to her. Nicole scooched over and let Waverly attempt to put her in something. 

"Waves I don't think this is going to-" 

And with ease somehow Waverly got her to stop crying and got the dress on in less than a minute. 

"What? How- that's not fair!" Nicole complained, with a smile creeping on her face. 

"Sorry, sweetie. I think she just likes me more," Waverly said with a smirk. 

Nicole felt a little bump at her side and looked down to find Levi playing with his trucks, but using Nicole's leg as a ramp. 

"Hey! What are you doing mister?!" Nicole asked, pretending to be stern. 

Levi giggled and looked back at his truck. "Nothing."

"Well, it doesn't look like nothing!" Nicole scooped Levi in her arms and started tickling him, causing him to laugh uncontrollably. 

"Stop it! Stop it!" Levi said between laughs. 

Nicole smiled and let go and picked up Hazel. 

"What do you wanna do today bug?" Nicole asked, referencing his bug-themed t-shirt on. 

Levi shrugged his shoulders and went back to playing with his newly acquired trucks. 

Nicole felt a hand on her shoulder and turned around. 

"Nicole remembers we do have to talk, about, y'know- this," Waverly said, looking around to the two new kids in the house. 

"I know, I know, but that doesn't mean we can't have some fun." Nicole turned back to Levi. "Do you want to go to the park today?" 

Levi smiled and shook his head and ran out of the nursery. "C'mon, C'mon, let's go!" 

"Nicole," Waverly started. She was particularly happy with the fact that they  _needed_ to talk about this situation and Nicole was going and making plans. 

"We can invite Wynonna and she can bring Alice. Levi needs a friend anyway, we can discuss things then," Nicole said, getting up and following Levi. 

"We're coming bug!" 

 

***

 

"What do you plan on doing Nicole?" Wynonna asked. 

They were all at the park now, watching Levi and Alice run around the playground. Nicole knew both Wynonna and Waverly were going to bombard her with questions, to be honest, she had no intentions of having that conversation. She knew she was getting in a little too deep but she didn't want to admit it. And she sure as hell wasn't going to let them get split up in the system. 

"We're going to get our fosters license and they're going to stay with us," Nicole said calmly, avoiding making eye contact with her. 

"We're going to what now?" Waverly asked, glaring at her wife. "We never discussed this, Nicole. You can't just make plans for us without discussing it with me first."

Nicole nodded and avoided making eye contact with her wife and just continued to stare off into the distance. "Can we get our fosters license so they can stay with us?"

Waverly sighed and rolled her eyes. "Nicole! Jesus, please just act like an adult!" 

"I'm sorry, Waves. It's just they've been through so much and legally we have to call social services and I don't want them to get split up. We can do it, I mean space is pretty tight, but, Ferryn and Hazel can share a room, Levi can take the guest bedroom for now."

"What about your niece?" Wynonna asked with frustration in her voice. "Y'know the one that sleeps over almost every week? The one that happened to be here before them two? Your goddaughter?"

Nicole smacked Wynonna in the leg and groaned. "We'll find room."

"Where, Nicole. Where? We don't have a whole lot of room. In fact, we have just enough," Waverly pointed out. 

"Well look at them, they're best friends already," Nicole said, pointing to Alice and Levi who were happily playing in the sandbox. "We'll get bunk beds and maybe we can look into moving, a bigger house? Or even renovating." 

Waverly threw her hands up into the in disbelief. "Nicole, do you know how expensive that is? We do not have the money to be throwing around like that."

"So I'll pick up extra shifts, there's always more to be done."

"No, it's not that we don't  _have_ the money, it's just that we cannot be throwing around out money on something that's not permanent!" 

 _Not permanent._ Those words were ringing in Nicole's ears. Did Waverly not want to do this? Out of all the people, she thought Waverly would be for taking these kids in and giving them a good life, hell the thought of adopting them even came across her mind. They always said that they wanted more, Nicole couldn't get pregnant and Waverly didn't want to give birth again. It was like fate brought them together, in Nicole's eyes it was perfect. 

"Nicole, you're not seriously thinking of  _adopting_ them are you?" Wynonna said, turning to her sister-in-law. 

"What? No!" Nicole lied. "What makes you think that?"

"I can see the wheels turning in your brain. And I know you, the only person that has a bigger heart than you is your wife." 

Nicole sighed and patted Waverly's leg. There was just something that she felt for these kids, she couldn't figure out what, but the thought of leaving them with someone else broke Nicole's heart. 

"Baby I love you, but I can't see these kids get hurt again. I just want to give them one last good home before they find their forever family." Nicole looked pleadingly in her eyes, trying to figure out what she was thinking. 

Waverly looked up and shook her head, trying to figure out what she was even thinking. "Nicole it's a lot and we already have our hands full with just one, let alone with two more. I don't know." 

"Waves, please just trust me on this. I know they can find their forever and they're happy here! I cannot imagine sending them to live with someone other than us. It's a lot, I know. But we have been through hell and back and so have they. We cannot send them through hell again," Nicole said softly. 

Waverly sighed and slowly shook her head, still taking in the huge responsibility they were possibly about to take on. 

"You know it's going to take almost 3 months to get your foster license," Wynonna butted in. "I was planning on calling social services today."  

"Then we'll do respite care," Nicole said confidently. "Just until we get our foster license." 

"Nicole this is a crazy idea, you cannot get too attached to these kids. They could possibly have family they don't know about just waiting to accept them with open arms! Imagine how you'd both feel," Wynonna said, trying not to be too loud. 

"Oh my god, would you just stop it already? We'll do a blood test, pull up their records, find out everything we can about them. Until then they're staying with me." 

"Us," Waverly said boldly. "Not me,  _us._ "

Nicole turned to Waverly with a surprised look on her face.

"Waves," Nicole started. 

"Yes, I will do this with you. You're my wife and I love you and I'd do anything for you. And I agree with you, I don't want these kids living anywhere else. But I do still think this is a bad idea," Waverly said with a sigh. 

Nicole took Waverly's hand in hers, "I love you Waves, thank you, thank you." Nicole leaned in for a kiss, which Waverly returned with a smile. "Thank you." Kiss. "Thank you." Kiss. 

"Ok, enough," Wynonna said in disgust. "Someone is going to end up calling the cops for excessive PDA." 

"You forget I  _am_ the cops," Waverly said with a smirk. 

"Even worse," Wynonna said with an audible gag. 

"Alright well this still isn't really a plan," Waverly said. "We get our foster license and we foster them, what next? What if they don't find a home for the next few years."

"We'll cross that road when we get there," Nicole said softly. 

"I don't like that answer," Waverly said coldly. 

"I'm sorry, but I don't really have an answer." 

"Mommy!" 

"Nicole!"

Alice and Levi came running up to them, full of giggles and smiles. 

"Can we go to Uncle Buddy's Burger Barn?!" Alice asked excitedly, putting her best smile forward. 

"Sure kiddo," Wynonna said without hesitation. 

"Wynonna?!" Waverly chastised. 

"What?" she asked in confusion. 

"That's so unhealthy, and I'm  _vegan._ We have to instill healthy eating habits in our kids," Waverly said outspokenly. But she quickly turned red and embarrassed about what she had said. 

"I mean, um, I uh," Waverly stuttered. As much as she loved Nicole she knew that they couldn't get attached to these kids because of all the unknowns. But just like her wife, her heart was bigger than the ocean and she found herself feeling something for these kids. 

"Just ask for a salad or whatever, maybe they have those mini rice ball things," Wynonna said, getting off the table of the bench. 

Waverly rolled her eyes. "Quinoa, it's called quinoa." 

"C'mon kiddo," Wynonna said, putting her hand on the back of Alice's head and leading her to the cars. "See you there, hurry up we're hungry!" she said over her shoulders.

 

***

 

Levi, Ferryn, and Hazel had just been put down for the night and Waverly was falling asleep on the couch to an ocean documentary. Nicole came back downstairs and plopped herself right next to Waverly. She held out her arms and Waverly scooched next to her and laid her head on Nicole's chest. 

"Thank you," Nicole said softly, running her fingers through her wife's hair like she knew she liked. 

"For what," Waverly mumbled, being pulled from her sleep. 

"For taking this on with me. I know it's a huge, huge undertaking and I know it's going to make like ten times more crazier. I wish I could put it into words to how grateful I am to have found a partner who supports me unconditionally, no matter how crazy it seems to get. You know I don't really believe in God or anything like that. But I'm thanking whoever is up there for bringing me back to Purgatory, for bringing me to the bar. You're the wife and mother I've only ever dreamed of. So I guess really I'm thanking you for everything you've done for me. Ok, I'm just going to stop rambling, but long story short I love you more than I can ever say or show you." Nicole smiled and held back a tear threatening to fall from her eye. She placed a soft kiss to Waverly's held and pulled her closer. 

"Nicole, I love you too. And marriage is a two-way street, I'm not going to rehash things but thank you for everything too. You changed my world, made me realize what true love was. And don't worry, we got this. Three kids is nothing compared to us Earps," Waverly said, snuggling in closer. 

They stayed like that for a while, Nicole never took for granted for how lucky she was; and she knew it too. She absolutley adored her wife and never thought in a million years she'd be this happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey y'all, im so excited to see how you guys react to this plot twist! thank you for the kind comments and keep 'em coming ! :)


	18. Bumps in the Road

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nicole and Waverly have a rough time getting Levi settled into his new school.

"Levi time for school!" Nicole called out while packing the last few school supplies in his backpack. "Ok, you got your lunch, some extra clothes, books," Nicole mumbled to herself, looking through his backpack making sure everything was in there.

It had been a week since they've lived with Nicole and Waverly. For the most part, it was actually a lot of fun but that's not to say it didn't have its moments. Levi had gotten more comfortable with them and that meant he got more comfortable saying no. Ferryn was starting to find her footing and started taking small steps towards things. She couldn't fully walk, but she had already had mastered the skill of standing and taking small steps. 

"Ok," Waverly said out of breath. She placed Ferryn on the floor and picked up Hazel's pacifier from her high chair tray and put it back in her mouth. "C'mon Levi let's get your shoes on."

They had gone shopping over the weekend for new clothes and new shoes. And of course, Levi had to pick the cool red ones.

"You look so cute!" Nicole said in awe.

Levi shot her a look. 

"Handsome, you look so handsome," Nicole said, followed by a smile. 

"Don't worry, I'll hold down the fort," Wynonna said sitting at the kitchen table. She said she would babysit until they got back from the school. 

Waverly had specifically styled his brown hair in a quiff, followed by a blue monster trick shirt, jeans, and his red shoes. When they were going over for a family dinner at Jeremy and Robin's Nicole attempted to do his hair, but it ended up looking worse than before, so she let Waverly handle from now on. 

"Alright we gotta go," Nicole said, grabbing Levi's backpack and helping him put it on his back. Levi ran over and reached up for the door and started walking out to the car. Nicole grabbed her keys and put her hand on Waverly's back, leading her out the door. 

"Thanks again, Wynonna. We'll be back soon!" Waverly called over her shoulder. 

 

***

 

"I know you're worried Mrs. Haught but you have no need," the principle Mrs. Asato said to Waverly. She had gotten used to being called Mrs. Haught. When they got married Waverly wanted to keep her last name, she said she wanted to keep the Earp legacy going. But recently she hadn't mind being called 'Mrs. Haught. The sound of Haught- Earp wasn't sounding so bad to her. 

Nicole took Waverly's hand and gave it a squeeze, trying to comfort her anxious wife. "He's going to just fine, baby," Nicole whispered in her ear. 

"Ms. Mallory?" Mrs. Asato said, knocking on the door and walking into one of the Pre-K 3 classrooms. 

"Hi!" she said enthusiastically. She walked over and extended her hand, she had black wide brim glasses, a dark pencil skirt and a sweater on. She was very young and didn't look older than 30. 

"It's nice to meet you both! Come on in!" 

Levi was holding on Nicole's hand tightly, she could tell that he was nervous. 

"So we recently started learning numbers one through 10 and the different seasons," the young teacher said warmly. "And I understand your current situation and completely support your recent choice to care for Levi. But we are more than halfway through the school year, do happen to know if he did any school or got any education beforehand?" 

Nicole shook her head no, "No, I guess we never really thought of that." Nicole ran her fingers through her hair nervously, she was quietly kicking herself for not thinking of something so simple. 

"No worries! Why don't we get him a desk right over there," she said, pointing to an empty desk sitting in a group of four. There were two guys and a girl sitting there coloring. 

"C'mon Levi," she said with a smile, bending down and offering her hand to Levi. 

Levi clutched Nicole's hand tighter and backed away, hiding behind her legs. 

"C'mon bug, don't be shy," Nicole said, moving around Levi so she was now behind him. 

"No!" he exclaimed, turning back and clinging tightly to Nicole's legs. 

"Oh sweetie," Waverly said, bending down and picking him up. "Let's out your backup and coat in this cubby right over here." Waverly took off his backpack and coat and handed it to Nicole, who hung it up in an empty cubby near the wall. 

"Hey Levi, I know your friends with Alice," she said, glancing over at Alice who was furiously scribbling on a piece of paper. But she stopped when she saw her teacher look up in her direction. 

"Hi Levi!" she squealed, getting up from her desk. "Come sit with us!" She grabbed on his hand and started dragging him towards the desks where her classmates were sitting. But he quickly ripped his hand from her grip and ran back to Waverly. 

"No!" He reached his arms up wanting to be picked up. 

"Baby," Waverly said bending down and picking him up. "You have nothing to worry about! You're going to have so much fun playing with Alice, coloring, and making new friends. I know it's scary-"

"But I don't want to! Can I just go back home with you guys and Ferryn?" he whined, playing with Waverly's necklace. 

Waverly hated what they had been through, especially the situation Levi was put in. All he wanted was to be with his sister and make sure she's safe, but Waverly and Nicole knew the best thing for him right now was to be in school. 

"You don't mind if we step in the hall do you?" Nicole asked the principle. 

"Of course, take all the time you need," she said warmly. 

Nicole placed her hand on Waverly's back and followed them out, hoping they could talk him into staying for the day. 

"Hey bug, I know you want to see your sister, but I promise she is just fine with my sister," Waverly said, kneeling down so she was eye level with him. He was staring at the ground with a misty look in his eyes. "You're going to have so much fun that you're not even going to notice we're gone. Whattya say?"

Levi kept staring at the ground and refused to answer. 

"Levi, can you look at me please?" Nicole asked. Levi slowly looked up at Nicole. "C'mere." He took his hand and took him toward the end of the hall and to the window. She knelt down and looked up toward the police station. The school was stationed in such a way that if you were in certain classrooms, one which happened to be Levi's, you could see the police station down the road and through the alleys of a couple of buildings. "You see that building all the way down there?"

He shook his head yes, still refusing to look at Nicole. 

"That's the police station, that's where Waverly and I work every day. That's where we're going to be while you're here, at school. Every day at noon a bell goes off and it rings out through the whole town so that everyone can hear. If you get scared, you can always look down there and know that we're right there, just a few buildings away. And if you ever need us, we'll be there."

Nicole pulled him onto her knee and held him securely, hoping that would make him feel safer. 

"Ok," he mumbled, glancing over at Nicole. 

"Ok bud, you wanna give it another go?" she motioned her head back towards the classroom. 

He shook his head yes and hopped off of Nicole's knee and held out his hand, which Nicole gladly took. 

Waverly smiled at them as they walked towards her, Levi grabbed her hand and now they were walking on either side of him. 

"Hi Levi, why don't you grab a seat next to Alice?" his teacher said calmly. 

Levi looked up and Waverly and Nicole and they nodded their heads and smiled encouragingly at him. He looked but at his desk and let go of their hands and walked over to his desk and joined Alice, who immediately starting making him feel better. 

"Don't worry about him," Ms. Mallory said. "He's going to be fine."

"Thank you," Nicole said with a small smile. 

They watched him interact with his new classmates and Alice before heading out the door. 

"This is a bad idea," Waverly said as they walked hand in hand down the hall. "What if he has a meltdown? I don't think he's ready for this."

"He's going to be fine Waves, it's Pre-K 3, he's going to be coloring and stuff all day. Beside's he and Alice get out at noon, which is only in like 4 hours, I think he can manage." 

Waverly shook her head. "This isn't a good idea." She let go of Nicole's hand and turned around and quickly walked back down the hall, intending on getting Levi and bringing him back home. 

"Waverly," Nicole pleaded, chasing after her. "Waverly what are you doing?" she quickened her pace and caught up to her. 

"Going to get Levi," Waverly said with a determined tone. 

"Waverly, wait, hold on," Nicole was almost running after her wife at this point. For someone who was short, she moved pretty damn fast. She gently grabbed her hand and pulled her back.

Nicole turned Waverly around and saw tears welling up in her eyes. She grabbed both of Waverly's hands in her own and squeezed them. 

"I know, I don't want to leave him here too," Nicole said softly. "But this is the best thing for him right now, he needs to go to school, Lord only knows how long him and his sister was in that trailer. It's hard, but we'll be back to get him in no time." She brought her hand up to Waverly's face and wiped a falling tear. 

Waverly sniffled at gave a sad smile at wiped her eyes. 

"Do you want to go get some breakfast with me?" Nicole asked, hoping that some avocado toast would distract her. 

Waverly smiled, "Don't you have work?" 

"I'm the sheriff, I can do whatever I want." 

"Ok," Waverly said with a shaky voice. 

Waverly and Nicole walked hand in hand down the hall out of the school. 

"Y'know this not getting too attached thing isn't working very well," Waverly said with a small giggle. 

"I know," Nicole said. "But they're really cool kids." Nicole smiled and placed a kiss on Waverly's temple as they walked to their car. 

 

***

 

"What if he doesn't come out?" Nicole asked nervously, holding Hazel in her arms. They were both standing outside of Purgatory Elementary, waiting for Levi and Hazel. 

Waverly chuckled and gave her wife a look. "Now you're worrying too? You were totally calm this morning?" 

"Well, your nervousness made me nervous!" Nicole sighed. 

"He'll come out, don't worry," Waverly said, grabbing Nicole's hand in her own, considering Ferryn was occupying the other. 

They stood there for a few more minutes, waiting for the kids to get dismissed. It seemed like forever to Nicole, for some reason she was sure that he wasn't going to come out and it was just going to be Alice. But low and behold, a few minutes later, all the kids came running out. And of course, Alice and Levi were the last ones to come out, giving Nicole a heart attack when she didn't see them. 

"Aunties!" Alice called out, running up to Waverly's legs and giving them a fierce hug. 

Levi also gave Nicole's a hug, looking up and holding his arms up. Nicole bent down and picking him up in the other arm.

"How was it a bug? Was it a lot of fun?" she asked as they walked to the car.

Levi eventually cracked a smile and nodded.  "I made this," he said, holding up a red jellyfish craft, made of half a paper plate covered in paint and some red yarn and googly eyes. 

"Wow! You made this?" Nicole asked in awe. For someone so young it was a pretty neat painting job. 

"Look, Waverly," he said enthusiastically. 

Waverly was currently talking to Alice about her day. 

"That's so cool, buddy! You did a really nice job." Waverly smiled as she carded her fingers through Levi's soft brown hair. 

Levi smiled and buried his head into the crook of Nicole's neck shyly. 

Nicole got Levi and Hazel both settled in their car seats while Waverly did Ferryns. It was a pretty small conversation on the car ride home, Nicole and Waverly talking about what was for dinner and Levi sharing bits of his day. 

Nicole had decided to take a half day considering it was Levi's first day of pre-school. 

When they got home, Waverly unpacked Levi's backpack while Nicole put all three kids down. She went through his folder, and the first thing she found was a sort of "progress report." The paper consisted of how the day went written by his teacher. She said that Levi was all caught up in terms of education and he had a lot of fun and made some new friends. 

"Well, that was a little chaotic," Nicole said walking down the stairs in sweats and a t-shirt. "What's that?"

"Levi's progress report. He apparently had a really good day," Waverly said happily. 

Nicole raised her eyebrows in confusion. 

"Here, read for yourself," Waverly said hading her wife the piece of paper. 

As she read a smile formed on her face, she was so happy that Levi had a good day instead of a bad one. 

"Thanks to you he had a great day on his first day of preschool."

"That's my boy," Nicole said proudly. 

Waverly sighed, she knew they were both getting too close to these kids. She knew they were all going to end up getting hurt. 

"Nicole." Waverly found herself speaking before thinking. She wanted to talk to Nicole about the future with these kids, more specifically about not getting too close to them.

"Baby, we don't know how long Levi and Ferryn are going to be here," she started. 

"Yeah? I know," Nicole replied, unsure of where Waverly was going with this. 

"You haven't found their parents or any relatives, right?"

"Birth parents," Nicole corrected. "And no we haven't. The only thing we know is that their last names are Wood. Levi and Ferryn Wood. I don't think Wynonna has been able to contact their birth parents." 

Waverly nodded and thought about what she was going to say next. 

"I love you, Nicole. I love you and I'm always going to be here and support you. But don't you think you're getting a little too attached? You never know what could happen and I don't want anyone getting hurt, I think it's a bad idea."

Nicole sighed and rolled her eyes. "I know, Waverly. I'm not getting too attached, I'm just happy to see that their settling in and doing ok."

"Ok," Waverly said with a high pitched voice, unsure if she should believe her wife. She knew she had the best intentions but she had a feeling someone was going to get hurt.

"What? I know that our situation is unpredictable, I'm not stupid Waverly. I know it's not a good idea, I wasn't planning on adopting them," Nicole snapped back. She could feel herself getting angry, but she didn't know why. She knew Waverly would be there but for some reason that just wasn't enough for her. 

"I never said that, Nicole," Waverly retorted. "I'm just pointing out that it's not a good idea, you need to think about it at all aspects of this."

"I am Waverly, I'm thinking their parents are assholes who left their children alone to fend for themselves in a dirty trailer park! They deserve better and that's what I'm trying to give them! I have enough to provide for them, I have a home to give. I can- I can do it!" Nicole said tautly. 

"What is this  _I_ stuff? Have you forgotten that we're married _,_ Nicole?! I'm your _wife,_ and I told you that I'm here to support you and these kids, stop acting like you're a saint who was the only one willing to take them in. I'm glad we can give them a better life and a better home and! You need to think rationally realistically, this situation isn't going to be permanent and for all we know they could have a family out there willing to take them in!" 

"Jesus Christ, Waverly, I am thinking rationally! I know there are a million unknowns, I just want them to know that they're not disposable, that they're not a piece of meat being thrown around from home to home. I want to know they're  _loved._ What are you pissed that we took them in and gave them a home?!"

"No, I'm pissed because I wasn't given a say!"

"What are you talking about? I asked you if this was ok and you agreed!"

"I know I did, but you've taken control! I'm just the lowly ole wife who goes along with what they're told."

"What the fuck, Waverly! No, you're not, you said you were ok with this and that you were going to support me?!" Nicole was fuming at this point, the words that were coming out of her wife's mouth angered her beyond belief. 

"I am supporting you! But the moment you heard the word 'ok' you took over! You haven't even bothered with my opinion!" Waverly loved Nicole and meant what she said, she supported her and was always going to be there for her. But sometimes that meant kinda just going along with her. 

Waverly spotted Levi out of the corner of her eye, hiding behind the couch. 

"Are you guys fighting?" Levi asked when he knew Waverly saw her. 

Nicole turned around and whipped her head back towards Waverly and sighed. She brought her hand up to her forehead in frustration. 

"No sweetie," Waverly said, walking over to Levi and giving him a forced smile. Nicole followed and picked him up and brought him over to the couch and placed in their laps. 

"No we're just having a loud conversation," Nicole said softly. 

"Cause it sounds like you guys are fighting. You sound like mommy and daddy before daddy went away." 

Nicole looked up at Waverly and Waverly looked back at her. They both had concern in their eyes for the little boy in their laps. 

"We're not fighting, I promise, bug. We're just disagreeing, sometimes those conversations can get kinda loud. But we're ok," Nicole said, running her hands through her his hair. 

"Ok," he said calmly, playing with the toy train in his hand. 

Nicole pulled him into a hug and lightly kissed the top of his head. 

"Why don't we go up to your room and have some quiet time? I can read you a story," Waverly pleaded, hoping he would be able to resume his nap. 

Levi shook his head and got off of their laps and headed for the stairs. 

"I'll be up in a minute." 

"Look, Nicole I-" 

"No, I just- I can't right now," Nicole said bringing her hand to her forehead and running her fingers through her hair. "Look, I'll be back, I just need a little break." She got up and grabbed her coat and keys and walked out the door without saying another word. 

Waverly sat there dumbfounded, trying to wrap her head around what words they had exchanged. There were words that she wishes she could take back and all she wanted to do was talk it through with her wife. But her wife had walked out, without giving Waverly so much as a couple of words.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> eek! a lot of angst! as much as we want it to life never goes smoothly, even in fanfics. anyway, i hope you enjoyed this chapter and thank you all for the nice comments, i love reading them so keep them coming!


	19. hi guys

so the last chapter was not a good chapter and i jumped into adoption way too quickly, im not really sure why i did. life is just a bit hectic right now and my brain is like broken, so i think i'm just going to take a few days and then i'll return with a better chapter, i promise :) thank you all for the nice comments and support, i love you all ! xx 


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Waverly and Nicole talk. They also find out more about the kids.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah so this is definitely better than before even though I clearly had no idea what i was writing. because i really didn't know what to write for this chapter so it really sucks, even though it's better than before.

Waverly was sitting in bed reading a book when Nicole walked in. She didn't make eye contact with Waverly and made a beeline for the bathroom. Waverly sighed and put her book down and stared at the window, wondering when Nicole will finally talk to her. 

Nicole took an extra long shower that night and took even longer in the bathroom. She took so long that when she came out, Waverly was already asleep with the book on her chest. There was a little relief that went over Nicole. She knew she needed to talk to Waverly, but she just didn't want to. 

She threw her dirty clothes in the hamper and went over and set the book on the nightstand. She turned off the bedside lamp and leaned down and placed a soft kiss to Waverly's forehead before getting into bed and soon succumbing to her exhaustion as well. 

 

***

Waverly woke up to an empty bed, she sat up and looked around the bedroom, looking for Nicole. But she wasn't there. She looked over at the clock and saw that it read 8:07. 

She yawned and got out of bed and threw on her robe, but not before making her way to the bathroom. 

She walked into the nursery and found that Hazel and Ferryn weren't in their cribs, she figured that maybe Nicole got up early with the kids. She assumed that Nicole was probably making breakfast, so she headed downstairs towards the kitchen. But she didn't see anyone, Nicole or the kids; they weren't in the kitchen.

"Nicole?" Waverly called out. She waited for an answer, but there was none. She checked the office, the laundry room, the living room. They were nowhere to be found. 

She looked out the kitchen window and saw that there was no car in the driveway. She started to panic, and a million thoughts were going through her head.

" _What if Nicole got angry and picked up and left? What if they got kidnapped, or murdered?!"_

"No, Waverly, let's think realistically," Waverly told herself, trying to keep herself calm. 

She walked back into the kitchen and pulled out her phone, just when she was about to type in Nicole's phone number her car rolled into the driveway. She watched Nicole get out of the car and then get all the kids out of their car seats. She let out a sigh of relief, happy to see that everyone was safe and wasn't kidnapped, or murdered. 

She walked and met them at the door, giving them the worried and upset 'mom look.' 

"Where were you guys?" Waverly asked with an exasperated tone. 

"We went and got donuts!" Levi exclaimed, walking past Waverly into the house. 

"There was no note! Nothing! I thought something happened to you guys!" Waverly chastised. 

"Sorry," Nicole said, walking into the house with Hazel in her car seat, Ferryn in her arms, and donuts barely staying in her hands. 

Waverly sighed and reached out and took Ferryn, giving Nicole less to hold. 

"It was just kinda last minute, Hazel woke up, and then the rest of them woke up. I didn't really feel like making breakfast," Nicole said, taking Hazel out of her car seat and putting her in her high chair. 

"Just, a note or something would've been nice," Waverly mumbled. 

"I'm sorry," Nicole said quietly. She grabbed a few donuts from the box and put them on plates and gave one to Levi. She tore one into little pieces and split it between the two babies. She handed Waverly a box with some an Açaí Bowl from her favorite little cafe in town. 

Waverly smiled at the small gesture; she knew her wife was trying. 

It was an awkward breakfast; little to no conversation was shared. Even after everyone had finished eating, Waverly went and cleaned everyone up, and Nicole took care of the dishes. She was expecting Nicole to starts some kinda conversation, even though she knew that Nicole probably wouldn't. They were both too stubborn to make the first move. 

"Nicole," Waverly beckoned, walking into the kitchen after she got the kids settled in the living room, playing and watching Finding Dory. 

Nicole looked up and hesitated, but answer a few seconds later. "Yeah?" she asked, wiping her hands with the kitchen towel and turning around. 

"I'm sorry, about what I said yesterday. I promise you I didn't mean it. I just- got caught up in the moment," Waverly said quietly, looking down at the ground. 

"It's ok," Nicole said followed by a sigh. "I did, too. And I get where you're coming from; I've just been so caught up in making sure they're safe and happy I haven't asked how you're doing. I'm sorry, Waverly. And I know that this might not be permanent, but Waverly, I really love them." 

Waverly gave a small smile, "I know, I know you do. You have the biggest heart in the world, and I love you for it. You just-  _we_ just have to be careful, I don't want anyone getting hurt," she said walking closer. 

Nicole shook her head and wrapped her arms around her wife and pulled her into a big hug. 

Waverly smiled and rested her head on Nicole's chest breathing in her intoxicating vanilla dipped donuts smell. She hugged back tight, content as could be in her wife's arms. 

"I don't think I said thank you," Nicole said quietly. 

"You don't have to," Waverly said with a chuckle. 

"No, I do. It was a lot just to take in all in one day, and you did. Or at least you pretended to be put together pretty well. But thank you, Waves. So much, you really are the best wife in the world," Nicole said heartily, pressing a kiss to her wife's forehead. 

"I know," Waverly said proudly, pulling away from Nicole's embrace. 

"Oh and  _so_ humble," Nicole said with a smirk. "I love you." She smiled lovingly into Waverly's eyes and pulled into a tender kiss, forcing her on her tippy toes. 

"Ewww." 

They pulled away quickly, and both turned around to see Levi holding a fire truck in his hand and recoiling in disgust. 

Nicole laughed, and Waverly giggled in embarrassment. She knew she was going to have to get used to those reactions now that they had a daughter, but she didn't think so soon. 

"What's up buddy," Nicole said kneeling down, so she was eye level with Levi. 

"Ferryn fell and won't stop crying," Levi said, turning around and running back into the living room. 

"I got it," Nicole said turning back around to Waverly. "You go take a nice long shower." She took Waverly's hands and squeezed them before leaning in and kissing her on her cheek. 

 

***

 

"Wynonna," Waverly said confused, standing at the door with her sister looking sleep deprived. 

Wynonna pushed past her into their house, and Waverly caught a whiff of her- and it wasn't pleasant. 

"Wynonna you stink!" Waverly said, bringing her hand up to her nose to try and stop the wretched scent from going further up her nose. "Have you slept? Or showered?"

"I found out who their parents are," she said tiredly, but proudly. 

"Hey Wynonna," Nicole said walking down the stairs, but she instantly was taken aback. "What is that smell?" she said wrinkling her nose. 

"I found out who their parents are!" she said, whipping around to face Nicole. 

"Whoa ok, that's great but stop yelling, i just put them down," she said, pinching her nose. "God, how long has it been since you've showered?" 

She threw a folder on the counter and opened it, showing personal files. 

"Henry and Rose Wood," she said. "Their dad's in jail, and they're mom turned up dead a town away in Banff. Their mom seemed to have some sort of mental problem; I'm not really sure what, but it might explain why she up and left them." 

"Ok, we'll look through them and update ourselves, please, for the love of God, go take a shower," Waverly said, shooing her sister away. "You know you have extra clothes in the guest, well now Levi and Ferryn's room." 

Wynonna nodded and started heading for the stairs. "Make some coffee, we’re gonna need it!" she demanded over her shoulder. 

Nicole sighed and took a seat at the counter, pulling the papers closer to her, she took out the personal files and started going through them while Waverly put on a pot of coffee. 

"Oh my God," Nicole said, starting fervently at the papers. 

"What?" Waverly said walking over, leaning on the counter across from Nicole. 

"I know these people, the father at least," Nicole said quietly. "Oh my God," she brought her hand to her face in disbelief. 

"What? How?" Waverly asked, anxiously waiting for Nicole's answer. 

"Right before Nedley retired. I arrested him for arson, but when I brought him to the station, Nedley said he would take care of it and," Nicole shrugged. 

"And what? What did Nedley do?" Waverly asked. 

"I don't know; I never saw him again if that's what you're asking. I guess Nedley just sent him to the nearest state prison," Nicole said. Purgatory was a great little town, but they weren't equipped to jail people for long periods. 

"How long ago was this?" Waverly asked, walking around and taking a seat next to Nicole, pulling the papers towards her. 

"Uh, I don't know," Nicole said, looking up and thinking back. 

"Maybe, 2 years ago? I don't really remember," Nicole said, looking back down at the papers. "We should ask him about this, and I don't think he even knows about Levi and Ferryn. Let me call him," she said reaching for her phone. 

"Nedley is on vacation remember? He's not going to be back until next Monday," Waverly pointed out. 

"Shit," Nicole breathed out. "Of course, just our luck. I can't wait that long!"

Waverly tried to hide a smile. "I know, baby. But it's only 3 days, just be patient." Waverly placed her hand on Nicole's thigh.

Nicole instantly felt all her muscles relax to Waverly's touch. She didn't realize how anxious she was.

"I don't think I can."

"Yes you can, sweetie," Waverly said, placing a chaste kiss to Nicole's cheek.

"Do you think they remember them that well?" Nicole asked, turning her body, so it was facing Waverly.

"I'm sure they do, they probably don't remember a lot, but I'm sure they remember who they are."

Nicole nodded and sighed; she hated not having answers. And she hated even more that she couldn't face the people that left their kids to die. It made her skin crawl at the fact that these people were blessed to have kids, and they couldn't even take care of them

"They love you, Nicole," Waverly said quietly, getting up and sitting in Nicole's lap. She wrapped her arms around her wife's neck, playing with the ends of her curly red hair.

Nicole gave a sad smile and wrapped her arms around Waverly's waist, holding on tight.

"Almost as much as I love you," she said in a sultry manner. She gave Nicole a sweet kiss on the lips before pulling away. Nicole smiled and hugged her, laying her head on Waverly's chest. 

"Why is it our luck that Nedley is out of town when we  _finally_ get some answers," Nicole whined. 

"We're Earps, babe," Waverly said, running her fingers through Nicole's fiery red hair. "It's Earp luck." 

"I think I'm over it," Nicole mumbled. 

"Hey!" Waverly chastised, pulling away from her embrace. She looked down and saw the sad, yet playful look on her partners face. "Y'know this one time I'll forget you said that."

Nicole chuckled, she couldn't help but look down at the cleavage her wife was showing off, especially since she was so close and sitting on her lap. 

"Mrs. Haught, are you staring at my breasts?" Waverly asked with a smirk. 

"No," Nicole deadpanned, shaking her head and unapologetically continuing to stare. 

"You're a pain in the ass," Waverly said, pulling Nicole by the cheeks into another kiss. "But I love you." She continued to cup her wife's face in her hands, she smiled down at her and booped Nicole's nose with her index finger before getting off her lap. 

"I love you," Nicole said, watching her wife walk back into the kitchen. "What are we going to do?" she asked as she let out a big sigh.

"There's not really much we get some more information, and we can't get more information until Nedley gets back," Waverly said, handing Nicole a cup of coffee.  

Nicole took it and took a long sip, staring down at the papers full of information they couldn't do anything with. 

"This sucks," Nicole mumbled. 

"I know, baby. Don't worry; I promise we'll get some answers soon enough," Waverly said, putting her hand atop of Nicole's and squeezing it. 

"Damn, I needed that," Wynonna said, loudly coming down the stairs. "What do you have to eat around here, I'm starving," she said, opening the refrigerator door and rummaging through the items inside. 

"Ew, this is all healthy stuff," Wynonna said, closing the door in disappointment.

"Well we  _like_ to eat healthily, it's good for you," Waverly said, rolling her eyes. 

"I'm going to order a pizza, you guys want anything?" she asked, grabbing her cell phone from her pocket. 

"I'm good," Waverly said, shaking her head. 

"Actually I'll take a sub," Nicole said, flipping through the rest of the papers. 

"What kind?" Wynonna asked, typing the number into her cell phone. 

"Whatever one sounds good."

"No burger or anything?" 

"Not really in the mood," Nicole said sadly. 

Wynonna nodded and headed into the other room to make the order. 

"I can't look at these anymore," Nicole said, putting the papers back in the file and shutting it. She sighed and put her head down on her hands that were flat on the kitchen table. "I don't feel good." 

"Of course you don't," Waverly said, walking around the counter. "You had an early morning, barely ate anything today, and you just got a pile of big news. C'mon sweetie, you should get some sleep." Waverly gently tugged on Nicole's arm, getting her to stand up. She took her hand and guided her up the stairs into the bedroom. 

"Hey, if you're going up there to bang, make it a quickie I just placed the order!" Wynonna called from downstairs. 

Waverly rolled her eyes and ignored her sister. She opened the bedroom door and let Nicole go in first, who gladly crawled in bed and curled up under the sheets. She could feel herself getting drowsy. 

Waverly smiled and came over and tucked her in, making sure she was nice and cozy under the covers. 

"I'll get you some water," Waverly said, heading into the bathroom. 

She grabbed the glass next to Nicole's sink that she always drank from in the morning and filled it halfway with water. She walked out and gave it to Nicole, who gladly drank the whole thing and lied back down in bed. 

Waverly smiled and sat down on the bed next to her. She kissed her forehead, rubbing her temples before getting up and heading for their bedroom door. 

"Wait," Nicole called out, opening her eyes and propping herself up on her elbow. "Can you lay with me? Just, for a little while?"

Waverly grinned and nodded, "Of course I can, love. Whatever you want." 

Waverly happily crawled into bed next to Nicole, she lay there, letting Nicole get comfortable before adjusting herself. She wrapped her arms around Nicole, who was laying her head on her chest and was already starting to doze off. Waverly smiled and placed a soft kiss on top of Nicole's head and gently ran her fingers through Nicole's short, red hair. They weren't even laying there for 5 minutes, and Nicole was already softly snoring on her wife's chest. 

 

***

 

Nicole awoke to the sound of Paw Patrol on their TV in their bedroom and Levi laying in bed next to them. She looked up and saw Waverly reading with a book in her right hand and her left gently rubbing Nicole's back. 

"Morning," Waverly said, putting her book down and smiling at her wife.  "Or should I saw afternoon." 

Nicole raised an eyebrow and looked over at their bedside table and saw their clock read 1:24 in the afternoon. 

"How long have I been asleep?" Nicole asked, sitting up and moving off of Waverly and laying next to her. 

"About 2 and a half hours," Waverly said, pulling Nicole into a tender kiss. "Feeling better?"

"Way better," Nicole said, leaning in and giving Waverly a chaste kiss before turning over to Levi. 

"What's up bud?"

"Waverly said you tend to snore like a freight train!"

Nicole sucked her teeth and looked over at Waverly with a playful, yet annoyed look. Waverly was smiling back at her sheepishly. 

"A very soft, cute freight train!" Waverly said, attempting to save herself. 

"You're lucky I love you," Nicole said, sitting up in bed. 

Wynonna gently pushed open the bedroom door with both babies in her hands. 

"Hate to break up the tender moment, but both of them woke up and I have to take Alice to a doctors appointment," she said, handing both of the babies off to Nicole and Waverly. 

"Here's your sub," Wynonna said, handing her a brown paper bag, sitting on the vanity under the TV. 

"Thanks," Nicole said, sitting up, holding Hazel in one hand and the bag in the other. 

"Ok, I'll be back, Doc, Jeremy, and Robin are heading to Banff for some "man" trip or whatever over the weekend, and I don't feel like being in the house alone so Alice and I will probably crash here," she said throwing her coat on. 

"Ok," Nicole said, readjusting Hazel in her arms and taking out her food. 

Waverly set Ferryn next to Levi and took Hazel from Nicole, giving her some more hands to eat her sandwich. 

"Wait, but where are you going to sleep? We turned the guest bedroom where you guys normally sleep into Levi's room."

Wynonna shrugged, "Well, Alice can sleep in the bottom bunk of the bunk bed, and I'll just sleep on the couch." 

Waverly hesitated, she knew her sister tended to sleep only in a t-shirt and undies, and sometimes it was just the undies. She didn't want her kids to be scarred at such a young age. 

"Is that a good idea? You tend to have," Waverly paused, waving her hands in the air, trying to find the right words. "A different routine than us."

"Well, where else would I sleep?"

Nicole sighed and thought for a second. "Well, we could turn the storage room into a new guest bedroom, but for now we can just use the blow-up mattress."

Their storage room was originally supposed to be Nicole's office, but they realized the little nook downstairs near the laundry room would be better for her. 

Waverly thought for a second and nodded. "Yeah, that would work; we can move the boxes into the garage or attic. You don't mind sleeping on an air mattress over the weekend?"

Wynonna chuckled. "Babygirl, I've passed out in a porta party, an air mattress is royalty in my book."

"I'll be back soon," Wynonna said, heading out their bedroom and closing the door behind her. 

Nicole took a big bite of her sandwich, not realizing how hungry she was. She was tearing through it, bite after bite. 

"Slow down, you're going to choke!" Waverly chastised. 

"Sorry, it's really good," Nicole said between bites. 

"Can I have a bite?" Levi asked, crawling over to Nicole and sitting on his legs. 

Nicole nodded and held out the sandwich, letting Levi take a bite. 

Waverly watched the interaction between them, for some reason her stomach started to flutter at the sight of them. It was just so natural, it was like these kids have been living with them their whole life. 

Normally, Nicole wouldn't allow eating in bed or having the kids in bed. They didn't want them getting used to coming into their bedroom and watching TV, but she didn't mind in this moment, not at all. 

 


	21. If I Ain't Got You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nicole and Waverly celebrate an anniversary. 
> 
> TW: miscarriage and stillbirth! if that triggers you skip this chapter!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey y'allllll, decided to take a step away from the kids and their whole decision over it and stuff and just throw in something different!

It was 5 in the morning, and Waverly was sat up in bed, unable to fall asleep. Nicole, on the other hand, was fast asleep, even snoring a little bit.

It was the three year anniversary of their stillbirth of their two twins, a boy named Jesse and a girl named Paisley. It was the hardest day of the year, and even harder for Waverly. After the funeral, Waverly felt guiltier than ever. She thought that it was her fault and there was something she could've done to prevent. Nicole and the doctor both told her there was nothing she could've done to avoid the miscarriage from happening. 

**

_**3 Years Ago- 2 weeks before their due date...** _

 

_Waverly and Nicole were in their hospital, Waverly was in labor and was being closely monitored. One of their doctors, Dr. Grey was currently giving them an ultrasound._

_"Everything here looks great and we're on track to give a healthy birth," she said with a smile._

_A wave of relief ran over both of them._

_"Thank you so much!" Waverly said enthusiastically. She looked over at Nicole with nothing but pure happiness in her eyes._

_"Alright, you're at 9 centimeters. Since you're so close we're going to start getting things set up here. Try to relax and your twins are going to be here soon!"_

_Dr. Grey walked out of the room to get her supervisor and their team._

_It was just about 10 minutes later when they all walked in and Dr. Grey checked her dilation again._

_"Good news, you're at 10 centimeters, you're ready to push!"_

_Waverly was so overwhelmed with all these emotions she didn't even know what to say._

_"This is it, baby! We're going to meet our son and daughter!" Nicole said, taking Waverly's hand into her own and moving a strand of hair from her face._

_"Ok, Waverly, I'm going to tell you to push and you're going to do it for 10 seconds ok?" Dr. Montogomery said, their attending doctor on their case._

_Waverly nodded and braced herself._

_"Ok, push!" Dr. Montgomery said._

_Waverly pushed as hard as she could and the nurses counted to 10. They repeated this a few more times until she was finally crowning._

_"We have a head! One more push Waverly!"_

_Waverly pushed with all her might, and finally, their daughter was born._

_"Oh my," Dr. Grey said, accidentally saying it louder than needed._

_Dr. Montgomery silenced her young intern, giving her a stern look and mumbling under her breath._

_"What?" Waverly said, exasperated, but she looked over at the doctor with nothing but worry in her eyes._

_"Ok, Waverly, it seems as though the umbilical cord is wrapped around her neck, but not to worry. You have a great team on your side and we're going to do everything we can. But while they work on that I'm going to need you to push for your son ok?" Dr. Montgomery said as encouraging as she could._

_Waverly looked at Nicole with nothing but fear in her eyes. Nicole mustered up the best encouraging smile she could. She was terrified, but right now she needed to be the strong one to keep Waverly calm. And she had faith in the doctors that they would do everything they could._

_Waverly gave a few more pushes and finally their son was out._

_"Ok, Waverly I know this isn't what you want to hear, but there is a big knot in your son's umbilical cord. But again, I don't want you to worry, we're going to do everything we can."_

_Dr. Montgomery and Dr. Grey both rushed to both babies and quickly wheeling them out into another operating room._

_"Nicole," Waverly said, absolutely terrified and absolutely exhausted._

_"Everything is going to be ok, baby. They're going to do everything they can and our babies are going to be fine," Nicole said, placing a soft kiss to her forehead._

_Meanwhile, a nurse was cleaning the room up and cleaning Waverly help, helping her into a more comfortable position._

_It was about 30 minutes before they heard anything back. Dr. Montgomery came in, and she wasn't her normal happy self. The young couple both knew that it wasn't good news._

_"Mrs. Earp and Mrs. Haught. We did everything we could but despite our best efforts, we couldn't save them. Your son and daughter are brain dead."_

_Waverly burst into tears and Nicole started to cry too._

_"What happened?" Waverly asked between sobs._

_"Unfortunately, the cord wrapped around your daughters head and there being a knot in your sons, not enough oxygen could get to their brain and by the time we got to it, it was too late."_

_"So there's no chance?" Nicole asked, her voice cracking._

_"No, there's no chance. You son and daughter won't live past the next 24 hours."_

_Waverly was sobbing into her hands. "It's all my fault."_

_"Mrs. Earp," Dr. Montgomery said, sitting on the edge of Waverly's hospital bed. "This is absolutely not your fault. This all happened during labor, there was nothing that gave us an indication of this happening. Some things just happened and sometimes it's no one's fault." She rubbed Waverly's arm, doing her best to comfort her._

_Waverly kept sobbing while Nicole held her, tears rapidly running down her face as well._

_"I'll give you some time."_

_The doctor walked out, giving the couple some space to grieve in private. They were absolutely heartbroken and there was nothing they could do._

**

_**Present Day** _

Waverly was lost in thought when she felt a hand press softly against her back. 

"Waves," Nicole mumbled in a tired, raspy morning voice. "Go back to sleep; it's the weekend; we don't have work." 

"I can't sleep," Waverly said quietly. 

Nicole tried to pull Waverly back into bed by gently tugging at her arm, but Waverly brushed her off. 

Nicole sighed and didn't sit up for a minute. 

"Waverly," she said sitting up. "I know today is a hard day." She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and looked at Waverly. 

Waverly sighed and looked at Nicole with a sad, misty look in her eyes. A familiar look that Nicole had unfortunately gotten used to. 

"It's been three years, Nicole. Three, three years since we lost our first babies," she said, her voice cracking. 

Nicole nodded and wrapped her arms around Waverly and pulled her close. 

"Do you ever wonder what life would be like if they were here with Levi, Ferryn, and Hazel? What our life would be like with five kids?" Waverly asked. 

Nicole nodded. "I do, I think about it all the time." 

"What do you think our lives would be like?"

Nicole paused for a second before speaking. 

"I think life would be really hectic, we would never catch a break. But we'd love every minute of it. They'd be smart, almost too smart for their age, they'd be ambitious and stubborn, just like their mom," she said, squeezing Waverly's thigh.

"The kids would all be best friends, they would do everything together. We would take all four toddlers to the park, school, swim lessons. We would have a huge family sleepover almost every week, we'd let the kids stay up late and eat a lot of ice cream and pizza. We'd be woken up by having them all run into our bedroom and jump on the bed, causing as much ruckus as possible. They would love their Aunt Wynonna, even more than us sometimes," she said with a breathy chuckle.

"And every night while we put them to bed, we'd be reminded of how lucky we were. We'd be the family that everyone was jealous of," Nicole said, running her fingers through Waverly's soft brown hair. heir 

Waverly had a few tears running down her face, crying softly into Nicole's chest. 

"I know it's not a lot, but that's what I think of. And we have so much to be grateful for already, life without you or these kids is unimaginable. But yeah, I think about it," Nicole said, holding Waverly tight. 

"No, it was everything," Waverly said, clutching the shirt of Nicole's chest. "This day gets harder and harder." Waverly pulled away from Nicole and look her in the eyes, still tightly holding onto her. 

"We lost our perfect babies, and it was all my fault," Waverly said, burying her head into her hands, tears falling from her face. 

"Waverly Earp," Nicole said, gently pulling Waverly's head from her hands to looking at Nicole. "It was not your fault, no one could've predicted this, not the doctors, not me, and not you. You did everything you could." 

Waverly sniffled and wiped a tear from her eye. 

"No, I had a feeling something was off. It was in my gut, Nicole. My gut! And yet I ignored and kept telling myself everything would be ok. I should've listened to my gut, it was all me," Waverly said, her voice cracking at the end of her sentence. 

It broke Nicole to see Waverly like this, it seemed as though no matter what she seemed to say, Waverly still always believed that it was her fault. All she wanted to do was take some of the pain away, but she didn't know how.

"Waves, that is not your fault. You were reassuring yourself that our babies were ok, you were being optimistic. There is nothing wrong with that, and you were even right. You remember what the doctor said, it all happened within your labor! Which happened in what, a matter of a day or so?" Nicole moved a strand of hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear. "It was not your fault at all, honey."

"But Nicole, I couldn't give you babies! I couldn't do it, I couldn't fulfill your dream," Waverly said sadly. 

"Baby," Nicole said, getting closer and taking her wife's hands in her own. " _You're_ my dream. And I know that sounds cheesy. But meeting and marrying my best friend, my soulmate was my dream. And yeah, having a family was definitely up there. But if I don't have you, then everything means nothing." Nicole placed a soft kiss to Waverly's forehead. 

The last line made Waverly smile a little. Nicole was quoting one of her all-time favorite song ' _If It Ain't You'_ by Alicia Keys. Her wife was the biggest dork she had ever met, but she thought it was absolutely adorable. 

"And it may have not happened the way we wanted it to, but it  _happened._ We have three beautiful kids, biological or not. We have it, Waverly, we have it all. And I'm so grateful for you and our family. I love you," Nicole said, pulling Waverly into a tight hug. 

Waverly leaned into Nicole, ultimately forcing Nicole on her back and Waverly cuddled up on top of her. 

"I love you, thank you for being my everything and always being there for me." Waverly placed a sloppy and chaste kiss to Nicole's lips before laying her head back down on her chest. 

"I will always be here for you Waverly, always," Nicole tightly wrapped her arms around Waverly. 

Marriage isn't easy, and there can be a lot of bumps in the road to really test your relationship. But as long as they have your whole heart and you have theirs, there's nothing that can come between you. 

 

***

 

They didn't end up getting a lot of sleep as Levi came running in the room at 6:30 in the morning. He jumped on their bed and jumped on top of them, pushing his hands into them trying to get them to wake up. 

Waverly opened her eyes and watched as Levi jumped on Nicole. Nicole ignored Levi for a few seconds, but suddenly she flipped over and grabbed him and gently threw him onto the mattress. She started tickling him which caused him to start laughing and squealing uncontrollably. It wasn't all kids, but it was definitely better than nothing. 

"Ha, that's what you get to waking us up!" Nicole said playfully, continuing to tickle the boy who was still laughing. 

"Stop it! Stop it!" he squealed through his laugh. 

Waverly was watching the whole time, unbeknownst to Nicole. Her stomach was doing flips watching the two interact. Levi was definitely a momma's boy. 

Nicole gave him one last tickle before stopped and flopping back onto the mattress. Levi got up and started jumping up and down on the bed. 

"How long have you been watching?" Nicole asked, raising an eyebrow at Waverly. 

"Oh, just the whole time," she said, looking back over at Levi. "He's a special kid."

"He sure is," Nicole said, looking over at Levi with nothing but love in her eyes. 

"I'm hungry!" he said, finally sitting down. He crawled over in between Nicole and Waverly. "Can we eat?"

"Yeah bug, what are you in the mood for?" Waverly asked, carding her hands through his messy, brown hair. 

Levi thought for a second before answering. "Waffles." 

"Mm, good choice," Waverly said. "How about we go out for breakfast?" 

Levi's eyes got wide and a big smile formed on his face. "Yeah! Yes! Let's go!" he said enthusiastically, jumping off the bed and sprinting to his room. "Come help me get dressed so we can go!"

All of his squealing ended up waking up Ferryn and Hazel, who both simultaneously started crying. 

"I got them, baby," Nicole said, getting out of bed and throwing on some sweats. 

Waverly flopped back onto the bed and smiled at herself, she never took anything for granted, especially after numerous stillbirths and miscarriages. She knew how lucky she was, but sometimes she needed a reminder. 

 

***

 

_**3 Years Ago- The day of their birth...** _

_Waverly and Nicole got discharged on special terms, a nurse helping Waverly to her bed. They were there with their son and daughter, spending the remaining time with them in the comfort of their own home._

_Nicole laid down on her side of the bed, both babies in between them. Both sobbing quietly as they held their firstborns. Waverly was smothering them both with kisses, giving them as much love as she could. It was the worst thing they could've ever imagined. They couldn't believe that this was how their babies lives were going to end. And all they could do was kiss them and cuddle them, telling them that they loved them._

_They stayed like that for a few hours, until they finally passed, holding them and loving them._ _It was the worst thing parents, especially new parents, could go through. And it tore Waverly apart. She fell into a deep depression after birth and she was never really the same after. The little spark in her eyes was never the same, the light that she gave was never the same and it never went back to the way it once was. It took a piece of Waverly, a piece that Nicole would rarely if ever, see again._

**

**Present Day**

Nicole and Waverly were at the diner having breakfast, it was really more making sure the kids ate while they were able to sneak a few bites of their own food here and there. Levi was too occupied with his toy train to focus on eating, so Nicole had to remind him to eat every few minutes. 

They were pretty content, even though it was just a little chaotic. But unfortunately, Hazely started crying in the middle of their breakfast. Waverly thought she could easily get her to calm down by holding her in her arms instead of her carrier. But it didn't work, Hazel would not stop crying. Waverly tried feeding her, cradling her, bouncing her up and down, trying to get her to take her pacifier, nothing worked. 

"People are staring," Levi whined. 

Nicole shot him a look and he looked away and went back to eating. 

"Do you want me to take her?" Nicole asked, giving her wife a smile. 

"No," Waverly said shortly. 

While Waverly was trying to get her to calm down, their waiter came over to their table. 

"I'm sorry ma'am, but we're getting complains of the noise. Is there, um, I mean can you-" 

"Don't you think I'm trying?" Waverly snapped, giving their waiter an unpleasant look. 

"We're doing everything we can," Nicole said with a hint of frustration in her voice. 

Their waiter gave a nodded and gave a sheepish smile and walked away. 

"I hate this," Waverly said quietly. "I hate that people can't get over a crying baby. I mean it's a baby! We were all babies at one point and we all cried our heads off too!"

Nicole rubbed Waverly's shoulder while she simultaneously held Ferryn in her arms, she was in the middle of feeding her pieces of pancakes while they got interrupted by their waiter. 

"I know sweetie, just try to ignore it," she said encouragingly. 

Waverly let out a sigh and continued to try and cradle and rock Hazel, considering she spat out her food and her pacifier. 

Their waiter came back over again. 

"I'm sorry, but we've got another few complaints," she said quietly. 

"Well that's great," Waverly said grumpily. "In the meantime can I get another coffee?" 

"Ma'am, I'm afraid that we're going to have to ask you to leave," she said. 

"What?" Nicole snapped. 

"Um, we're going to-"

"No, I know what you said. You've got to be kidding me!? It's a baby, it's the sound of  _life._ And all of you people can't get over it," Nicole said, now looking all over at the people at the diner, who were giving her scowls. 

"We're not going to be leaving, we're just a family who's out eating breakfast that happens to have a crying baby. Which apparently annoys all of you, but also keep in mind you were all babies at one point too!" Nicole yelled with a bitter tone. 

"Nicole," Waverly started. "Let's just go." 

"No," she replied. "We're not leaving, we haven't done anything wrong here!" 

"Take your baby outside, you pair of dykes!" an old guy with his wife yelled from a booth across the diner. 

Nicole's anger level went from 100 to 1000, Waverly was sure there was steam coming out of her wife's years. 

"Excuse me?!" Nicole said, quickly putting Ferryn back in her high chair. She got up from her seat and started angrily and quickly stomping towards the man. But Waverly was able to stop her, grabbing her arm and pulling her back. 

"Nicole!" Waverly chastised, her cheeks red from embarrassment.

"You heard me!" the old man said, standing up. "Your kids should have a father, not two homos like you! In fact, how did you even _have_ a child?! People like you don't deserve a family!" He stepped closer and got in Nicole's face. 

"No, my kids deserve parents that love them, two moms, or a dad and a mom. As long as their loved and safe, it doesn't matter who is raising them! You obviously don't know that looks like you asshole!" Nicole yelled back, she could feel herself getting angrier and angrier.

"Just leave! No one wants you here, you're bothering everyone!" he screamed back.

"Frank," an older lady yelled from their booth, his wife from what it looked like. "Frank! Get back over here!"

"No, Beth I won't. These young woman needs to be taught respect," he said, pointing his chubby finger back towards Nicole.

"So do you! Now get back over here and leave those young women alone!" she said as loud as she could.

Nicole huffed and grabbed Ferryn and took Levi's hand, helping him out of the booth. She stomped angrily out of the diner with both kids in her hand, Waverly sheepishly following behind. 

"And there's no way in hell I'm paying for our meal, which was pretty mediocre!" Nicole yelled back over her shoulder. 

Nicole angrily and quickly fixed Levi and Ferryn in their car seats and sped home. She was so mad she could cry. Sometimes she couldn't believe the world she lived in. They had come so far and yet it wasn't enough. And boy, did it suck. 

Waverly sat there in silence, unsure what to say because she didn't want to upset Nicole further, so it was an awkward car ride. 

When they arrived at the house, Nicole stormed into the house, she didn't even bother getting the kids out of her car seat and left Waverly to do it. Waverly let it roll off her shoulder, knowing Nicole was pretty upset right now, so she was able to get all the kids out of their car seats and into the house. Nicole on the other hand, was in their office with the door closed. She rarely left the door closed, it was either when she really need to focus or when she was really mad. And unfortunately for both of them, it was the latter. 

Waverly got the kids situated in the living room with some toys and some cartoons, giving Nicole a little time to calm down. Nicole was rarely ever this mad, but when she was it was normally over something she was pretty serious about. 

Nicole heard a knock on the door and didn't answer, so Waverly let herself in. 

"Hi, sweetie," she said quietly, closing the door behind her just in case things got loud.

Nicole didn't answer and just sat there, staring at her laptop, pretending to do work. 

"So, this morning was pretty, uh, pretty rough." Waverly kept a calm tone, hoping that it would get Nicole to talk. "Things got pretty loud." 

Nicole ignored her and continued to stare at her paper, signing her name and moving onto her next piece of paperwork. 

"Do you, uh, wanna talk about it?" Waverly ask cautiously. 

"Nope," Nicole answered bluntly, avoiding looking at her. 

"But-"

"No, Waverly," she snapped, not intending for it to come out so harsh. 

"No," she said, softening her tone. "I don't want to talk about it. Please, just not now." She sighed and put her head in her hands, she wished nothing more than to be left alone at the moment. 

Waverly nodded curtly and angrily walked out of their office and closed the door. She decided they both needed some time to cool off, so she decided to hang out with the kids, letting her mind get distracted for a little while. 

 

***

 

Nicole finally came out of her office about an hour later. Waverly was on her laptop, Levi was playing with his trains and watching TV, and Ferryn and Hazel were down for a nap. She made a beeline for the kitchen and grabbed a beer from the fridge. It wasn't even noon yet and she already needed alcohol. She made her way back to the living room and plopped herself down next to Waverly. 

"Feeling better?" Waverly asked, closing her laptop halfway. 

Nicole shook her head as she took a long sip of her beer. She took a big breath in and sunk down into the couch and closed her eyes. Her back was seriously starting to hurt from sitting in the same crouched position in her office, so sitting down on the couch and relaxing made her feel a lot better. 

"Ready to talk about it?" 

Nicole sighed and closed her eyes before answering. "I just hate the fact that one, people can't get over the fact that we have a baby. A baby that happens to be crying, and there's nothing abnormal about that. And two, the fact that people still feel the need to voice their opinion about a same-sex relationship! I mean I get it, some people are just never going to get past their own ways, but some of them don't even have the decency to at least keep their mouth shut. It's ridiculous! I hate it and I hate that you and our kids had to be witness to that. It pisses me off so much. I hate to say it but I was about ready to strangle that guy." 

Waverly set her laptop aside and turned to Nicole.

"C'mere." Waverly opened up her arms. Nicole took the invitation and snuggled up next to her, she set her beer down on the coffee table and laid her head down on Waverly's lap.

"I know, it really sucks," Waverly said, gently running her fingers through her wife's soft hair. "I hate it, too." 

"I wish our kids didn't have to see that. I mean, they're way too young to have to experience homophobia. I don't want them to have to go through that yet." Nicole closed her eyes and blindly took Waverly's hand in her own and kiss the top of it. 

"I hate that there's a 'yet.' I wish there was a guarantee that they weren't going to experience that." Waverly sighed and looked longingly over at Levi, who was watching TV and playing with his toys with absolutely no cares in the world. 

"They're so innocent. Not a care in the world, just three, happy little kids," Waverly said, looking back down at Nicole who's eyes were still closed.

"I know, and it sucks. Those comments just really pissed me off, I can't stand to hear anyone call my wife or our family names like that. It makes my skin crawl." Nicole cuddled up more next to Waverly, relaxing into her embrace. 

"Aw, sweetie," Waverly said, awkwardly leaning down and giving her wife a kiss on the temple. "That's so sweet. I love how protective you are of our family."

Nicole opened her eyes and looked up at Waverly with a sad smile, along with misty eyes. 

"And as much as I hate it, too, there's really nothing we can do about it. And we've come such a long way, we can legally get married, we have Pride and so many places being LGTB friendly. But unfortunately, there are ignorant people that aren't going to change. And baby, I love how much you love me and our kids. I really do, I really appreciate it, Champ would've ever done anything like that."

Nicole rolled her eyes and gave a weak smile. "Must we bring that fucktard into this?"

Waverly giggled. "I just like to remind myself how I met my best friend and soul mate and how I thought I'd just marry him as everyone wanted. But then I met you and my world changed forever." 

Nicole laughed. "Waverly Earp you're such a sap."

"You are a million times better than him and I'm so grateful I met you. But we also knew that stepping into this relationship would also mean things would become a lot different for us. And there are some things you just can't control. And it's shitty, it's complete horse shit. But there are moments, moments like this morning, where we just have to deal with them with grace. It's going to get better, I mean we've come so far already! It won't be overnight, but it'll be. We just have to be patient," Waverly said calmly, looking at Nicole the whole time. 

Nicole wiped a tear and sat up. "How do you always know what to say? Hell, you should become a motivational speaker or something, because that was great."

Waverly laughed. "I don't know about that. But I do know that I love you and appreciate everything you do so much. You're my best baby." 

"I'm sorry I kinda made this day about me, it's about you and our day." Nicole sighed and looked at Waverly with sadness in her eyes. 

Nicole leaned and gave Waverly a kiss, before pulling her in for a big, tight hug. They stayed like that, cuddled up on the couch while Levi played and the girls napped. The world might not be perfect, but with the right attitude, there's always something you change. 

 

***

 

 

Waverly and Nicole were cuddled up in bed, the kids were already tucked in for bed. They were cuddling, talking about their day and being nostalgic on this day 3 years ago. 

They spent the rest of the day relaxing at home, Nicole and Waverly just enjoying each others' and the presence, being thankful for what they had. It was a bittersweet day, it reminded them of how lucky they were to even have a family, but also reminded them of the losses and hardships they went through to get there. They normally never really talked much about that day, but for some reason, they couldn't stop talking about it. 

They reminisced to the day at the hospital, how bad Waverly's contractions were. And how Waverly insisted on having to deliver vaginally but then realized how painful it was and demanded a c- but it was already too late because Waverly's legs were already spread out towards opposite continents. And they especially remember the moment Dr. Montgomery came into their room, changing their world forever. 

It was definitely unconventional, normally they would have a nice dinner and spend the day cuddling and being mopey. But now that they had 3 kids, they couldn't really do that. It was a nice change, talking about it and not letting themselves mourn over it. They needed to start forgiving themselves, letting that day go. They had been looking at that day at such a tragedy, which it was, but they didn't see what it brought them. 

It had been a horrible day, the absolute worst. It was the worst day of their lives. But what they didn't realize is how much stronger it made them and how they didn't take anything for granted. They knew that their kids were in a better place, and keeping them on ventilators would be no way to live. It was hard, but slowly and surely they were starting to realize themselves that they did the right thing and that there was nothing they could do, but love them and hold for their remaining time.

Waverly often asks herself if she could go back and change that day, there's a part of her that 100 percent would. But the other half says she wouldn't. She knew her life would be so much different and she wouldn't be living with this constant ache in the back of her heart and the constant thought of her babies in the back of her mind, it was every day. But she also couldn't imagine her life without her 3 kids. She knew she couldn't have it both ways, having her twins  _and_ her three kids. It just wasn't the way the universe worked. But knowing how lucky they were and the hectic lives they lived with the 3 of them, versus a life that they never lived, Waverly couldn't really imagine her life being any different. She missed her firstborns like crazy, but she believes everything happens for a reason. And the worst day of their life also brought them the best things in their life, their 3 kids. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> more greys cameos!  
> thank you guys for the support and letting me take a little break. i have a lot of things going on right now and realistically this fic is not my number one priority, but it's definitely up there!  
> and i also tried not to make this too sad, but i also think it was in-depth enough or whatever, but i do hope you guys enjoyed this chapter:)


	22. Nedley

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nicole, Waverly, and Wynonna talk to Nedley about the kid's parents.

"Nicole, Wynonna! Let's go!" Waverly called from the bottom of the stairs. 

They were running late to Nedley's house; they wanted to talk to him about Levi and Ferryn's parents. They were supposed to be there 20 minutes ago, but Hazel had a blowout which stained her clothes and Nicole's. So Nicole took a shower while Waverly and Wynonna gave her a sink bath. But while Waverly ran up to the nursery, Hazel ended up thoroughly soaking the front of Wynonna's shirt, so she had to go up and change. It was a hectic morning. 

"Don't worry Waverly, we have everything under control," Jeremy said optimistically from the kitchen. He had two sippy cups in his hand. 

"Yeah don't worry, Waverly. We're gonna be fine, I brought arts and crafts, and Jeremy baked brownies," Robin said from the living room while currently being climbed on by Levi. He was playing with all of the kids, which meant it was a chaotic mess in the living room now. 

"Not too much sugar," Waverly said, quickly turning to Jeremy with a stern look. 

Jeremy raised his hands in defense, both of which were occupied with sippy cups. 

"I promise," he said. 

"Wynonna we don't have time to stop at the cafe and get you an iced coffee! You're just going to have to wait," Nicole said with an aggrieved tone. 

"You're such a buzzkill, Haught," Wynonna whined. "I just want my coffee!"

Nicole rolled her eyes and ignored her sister-in-law. She grabbed her keys and coat and turned to Waverly. 

"Ready?" she asked Waverly, smiling at her. She knew that Waverly was nervous about talking with Nedley about the kid's parents, so she was trying to give her as much encouragement as she could. 

"Ready as I'll ever be," Waverly mumbled. 

Nicole rubbed her back and gave her a quick kiss on the temple. 

"Ok, Jeremy, you all set?" Nicole asked. 

Jeremy nodded. "We're going to be fine. We're gonna do great!" 

"I already pre-made some ham sandwiches. They're in the fridge, and for a snack, there are some strawberries in there." Nicole threw on her coat and quickly walked into the living room, giving all three kids a quick kiss before heading out the door. 

"I love you guys; I'll see you guys later!" Nicole headed towards the door and waited for Waverly and Wynonna to say their goodbyes. 

Nicole wasn't particularly excited about this visit with Nedley, but she was anxious to find out more about the kid's parents. She wasn't sure what he was going to say. 

"Are you nervous?" Wynonna asked from the backseat. 

Nicole pursed her lips and slowly shook her head. 

"Yeah, I'm a little nervous," she said quietly. 

"I'm terrified," Waverly exclaimed in a high pitched voice. "What if their dad is like a crazy, tattoed, junkie who's out to get us for taking in his kids!" 

Nicole smiled and stifled a laugh. "I don't think that's going to happen. And even if that does happen, there's not much he can really do." 

"It happens, Nicole!" 

"Yeah, on TV," Wynonna quipped from the back. "Stop thinking this is going to turn into a whole episode of 'The Fosters.' " Wynonna was referring to one of the shows Waverly watched, which she watched way too much. 

"Hey," Nicole said, defending her wife glaring at Wynonna through the rearview mirror. "We're both nervous, who knows what Nedley is going to say. She might even be right; he might be a tattoed loser. And don't act like you're not nervous too, I know you care for those kids as much as we do." 

"I just don't think you have anything to be nervous about, their mom's dead, and it's not like his father is any state to father them or even have parental rights. So when you decide to adopt them there's nothing he can really do," Wynonna said, sighing and slouching in her seat. 

"We're not adopting them," Waverly quickly answered.

Nicole quickly looked over at Waverly. She knew that adopting them was not on Waverly's 'to-do' list, but it stung a little how quick she was to answer.

"We're just giving them a loving, last home before they find their permanent home."

"Yeah, which is going to be yours," Wynonna mumbled.

Waverly rolled her eyes and decided to ignore the comment so she wouldn't make worse of an already starting argument. 

The car went silent for a few minutes before pulling into Nedley's driveway. They all got out and shuffled up to Nedley's front porch and rang the doorbell. 

He opened it seconds later and greeted them all with a curt nod. 

"Waverly, Nicole, Wynonna," he said quietly. "You're late." 

Waverly's cheeks went red, since being Wynonna's sister she got used to being late and the disapproving glares and comments. But with her former boss, it was different, she always made she was on time for work, so for her to be late it was pretty embarrassing. 

"We're sorry, Hazel had an accident and," Waverly stumbled on her words, waving her hands in the air to try to find the right ones. "Uh, it kinda-"

"It's ok," Nedley said with a small, sympathetic smile. "Had a few of those," he said, referring to Chrissy. 

"Come on in," he said, stepping aside to let them all in. 

They walked into his house, Waverly had never been in his house before. Nicole and Wynonna had been in there once or twice for a few minutes on work-related business. But for Waverly it was new, his home was very old school, with a Victorian style carpet and old, beaten furniture. His house wasn't very big; the kitchen was right next to his living room. 

"Take a seat," he said, gesturing to the small dining table. "You guys want any coffee?"

"That would be great, thank you," Nicole said, placing her hand on the small of Waverly's back and gently guiding her towards the table. 

They all took a seat while Nedley got four cups of coffee for them and one for himself. Waverly was extremely nervous, her leg was bouncing up and down, and her eyes were darting all over the place. Nicole intertwined her hand in Waverly's and rested them both on the wooden table. 

"So I'm assuming you're not here to catch up," Nedley said, setting down the coffee mugs before taking a seat. 

"Not exactly, no," Waverly said nervously. 

"We wanted to ask you about Levi and Ferryn's parents," Wynonna said after taking a sip of her coffee. "We found their case files buried deep in the dinosaur cave that is your storage locker."

"We just wanted to find out more about them before we continue with anything," Nicole said curtly. 

Nedley nodded slowly and sat back in his chair, crossing his arms across his chest and straightening out his legs. 

"Henry and Rose Wood, nothing but a bunch of lowlife junkies who forgot to wear a condom," he said, avoiding eye contact with everyone at the table. 

Wynonna smirked, but Waverly and Nicole shot her a glare, which wiped it right off her face. 

"Their mother was nothing but a drug and alcohol addict, who was also suffering from psychosis. Their father, on the other hand, changed when they were born. He went from a loser to half a father, the best father she could be in those circumstances. He wanted nothing more than to get them out of there; he wanted to leave their small trailer and start a new life, without them living around drugs and alcohol. But their mother, Rose, wouldn't let them. She would get violent and abuse drugs even more. Sometimes she'd became outraged and take the kids with her and disappear for days," Nedley sighed and looked off into the distance, he had a particular look, a 'Nedley look.' You could tell he was trying to keep his tough demeanor, but his soft side was showing right through his eyes. 

"Ok, well why didn't he petition the court for full custody?" Waverly asked. 

"I don't know," Nedley said, looking over at Waverly. "He should've, he probably would've won."

"Well if he wanted to get out of there so bad, why did set the Muellers house on fire? That's like the exact opposite of what he should've done," Wynonna chimed in. She downed the last of her coffee and got up to get some more. 

"Ergh, I don't really know either. He said that he had to do what he had to do. He said that he just wanted to get out of there, knowing that he did the right thing. That's all he said, and I have no idea what he means. A few months after he got arrested, their mom was found dead in Banff," he said.

"Well, why did no one go and get the kids from the trailer? I mean send out a missing persons' report or something?" Waverly asked. 

"We did look, looked in the trailer, asked around town, asked in Banff. Nothing turned up, we asked in Calgary, we asked in Red Deer, we asked everywhere. A few responses, people were saying they think that they found the kids, but ultimately, nothing. We just assumed that they were dead or hiding, after months of trying we gave up," Nicole said. 

"You gave up? What the hell kinda excuse is that?" Waverly retorted, ripping her hand out of Nicole's. 

"There was nothing we could do, Waverly," Nedley cut in. "After months and months of searching and no answers, there was nothing else we could do. We looked everywhere, and we asked everywhere. If I could've waved a magic wand to find them instantly, I would've. We had no answers and no leads."

Waverly sighed, and you could see the tears starting to well in her eyes. She brought her hand to her face and covered her mouth with her hand in astonishment. 

Nicole rubbed Waverly's back, knowing how hard it was for her to take in. Waverly had expressed to her that morning that it infuriated her that two people who got pregnant so easily, could abandon their kids like that. She had been through hell and back to have their perfect Hazel, and yet these two people didn't even try and had two of them! 

"Their father is at a correctional center in Calgary, but I haven't heard anything since I sent him up there," Nedley said. 

"I also read he was involved in a robbery and a drive-bye by in like 2001?" Wynonna asked. 

Nedley nodded and took a sip of his coffee. "He was, he was in jail for ten years. He met Rose right after he got out of prison and they moved here. Besides arson, he hasn't been arrested for anything else since, besides a few speeding tickets."

"Ok, well that still doesn't explain why their mother just left them there," Waverly said with a sigh. "There's no excuse for leaving abandoning your kids!" 

"I agree," Nedley said. "I couldn't get any information on why they left out of their father." 

There was a minute of uncomfortable silence. 

"Maybe you can get some information out of him," Nedley said, taking a sip of his coffee and looking up and Nicole and Waverly. 

Nicole and Waverly looked at each other with furrowed brows. 

"You are going to go visit him, right?" Nedley asked in disbelief. 

"Well, we haven't really thought past talking to you," Nicole said, moving a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Well, do you even want to get more information?"

Waverly nodded.

"Well go up there and get it! He might be more understanding than you think, I mean you are taking care of his kids. I'm sure he'll be happy to know his kids and safe and loved by you two. He's done some pretty messed up stuff, but he cares for them," Nedley said, looking at the young couple with a serious look.

"Well, how do you know? He didn't really show it," Waverly snapped.

Nedley sat back in his chair again. "The night he got taken in. He told me, 'Make sure my kids are safe.' It was sincere; you could see the remorse in his eyes. My hunch is that he wants what's best for them." 

Waverly rolled her eyes and sighed. 

"If you want answers  _and_ if you want to adopt them, I think taking a trip up to Calgary might change your lives," Nedley said with sincerity. 

"We never said anything about adopting them," Waverly mumbled with an angry look on her face. 

Nicole's face fell a little, and she knew they weren't sure what they wanted to do with the kids. But a part of her wanted to make the kids a part of their family, well legally. They already were a part of their family; she just wanted to make it official. She just wasn't sure if Waverly was totally on board, she had no idea what she was thinking. 

Wynonna looked over at Nedley and shrugged her shoulders and proceeded to take another sip of coffee. 

"Well whatever you decide to do," Nedley said sitting up again. "Talk to their father; it's probably the best thing for you guys and those kids."

"Have you thought about the possibility of their father wanting to take back full custody?" Wynonna asked. "I mean, legally he still has parental rights. He's only been in jail for a few months. He might fight you guys for custody, and there's a 99 percent chance it's going to get ugly."

"We're not adopting them!" Waverly exclaimed, folding her arms and sulking back in her chair.

Nicole winced a little, every comment Waverly made about adoption it stung, which was something Wynonna was picking up on.

"Well, when you stop denying it," Wynonna mumbled.

"Just leave it alone, Wynonna," Nicole groaned, stopping both Waverly and Wynonna from another comment that could make it worse. 

"You guys need to get up to the correctional center by tomorrow if you want answers," Nedley said, cutting in and stopping the rising tension between them.  "Tomorrow is Friday, and they're closed to visitors on the weekends."

Waverly sighed. "I mean, you're just telling us now? We haven't even had the time to think about it, let alone talk about it. I mean, this is ludicrous!" Waverly leaned forward and rested her head in the palms of her hands. "What the hell did I get myself into," she whispered to herself. 

It wasn't as quiet as Waverly thought it was because everyone heard it. Nedley looked down at his hands, and Nicole and Wynonna looked at each other, they could all feel the awkward and uncomfortable feeling coming over everyone. 

It hurt to hear Waverly say those things. Nicole was seriously starting to fall in love with those two kids; she couldn't imagine them living with any other family. But hearing those comments from her wife was anything but reassuring. 

"Well, we appreciate the help Nedley," Waverly said standing up. She walked over and placed a quick kiss to his cheek before heading out the door. "We'll see you later." And with that, she was out the door and stomping to the car. 

Nicole followed, but with a handshake instead of a kiss and Wynonna just gave him a playful punch to the arm before following the rest out to the car. 

It was an awkward and uncomfortable car ride; no one knew what to say. Waverly was upset and staring out the window in the passenger seat, Nicole was wracking her brain trying to think of what the next step was, and Wynonna was bored in the back, becoming extremely uncomfortable by the tension between the two. 

"So," Wynonna started. "You really aren't going to adopt them? I mean, have you seen yourself with them?"

"For the love of God, Wynonna. Just shut up about it already!" Nicole snapped, glaring at Wynonna through the rearview mirror. "It's not the place or the time to bring this up. And quite frankly it's none of your damn business."

"Oh please, if it weren't for you me these kids wouldn't be living with you, they'd be living in Calgary. And you guys wouldn't have fallen in love with them and find two more additions to your family," Wynonna said with arrogance dripping in her voice. "So don't act like they're not at the top of the list of the best things that's ever happened to you!" 

"Oh my God, Wynonna. You-"

"Shut up!" Waverly squeaked from the passenger's seat. "Jesus Christ just shut the hell up! This has been an ongoing argument between you two ever since they've come to live with us. We'll go up to Calgary tomorrow and talk to their father. Just please, stop arguing," Waverly barked. 

Wynonna was just about to say something before Waverly cut her off. 

"And so help me God, Wynonna if one more word comes out of your mouth you are  _not_ coming with us tomorrow," Waverly demanded, making her voice deep and as threatening as she could. 

"Yes ma'am," Wynonna said as they pulled up to the house, dropping Wynonna off in front of her car. 

Wynonna quickly unbuckled her seatbelt and slid to the passenger's side and opening the door. 

"Be here by 9, or we're leaving without you!" Waverly called out before Nicole pulled into the garage and closed the garage door. 

"Are you sure baby?" Nicole asked. She didn't want Waverly to do something she didn't want to do out of spite. If anything she just wanted to talk before they made a decision. 

"Yeah, sure. Why wouldn't I be, I'm just going with the flow Waverly, who listens to what everyone else tells her to do. Just happy ole' housewife Waverly!" she exclaimed sarcastically, and angrily. She got out of the car and slammed the door shut, stomped into the house, and slammed that door shut too. 

Nicole was still sat there in the car; she sighed and rubbed her eyes out of frustration. She decided just to give Waverly some time before they talked about everything. Hopefully, by then everyone will have calmed down. 

"What's up with, Waverly?" Jeremy asked as Nicole walked into the house from the side door. "She stormed up to your room without saying a word."

"Just- nothing," Nicole said, throwing her keys on the counter and her coat on the chair beside her. "Just got a lot of things to talk about is all."

Nicole huffed and grabbed a beer from the fridge. 

"Thank you guys both for babysitting, we really appreciate it," Nicole said, walking into the living room, beer in hand. Robin was coloring with the kids on the floor and Hazel who was rolling around in her pack and play. 

"Nicole!" Levi said, jumping up from his seat and sprinting over to give her a big hug. 

"Hi buddy," she said, bending down and hugging him back. 

"Oh, no problem!" Robin said happily, finishing the last few touches on his 'Hello Kitty' from the coloring book. "I loved it! They're great kids."

"They are," Nicole said, with a sad, but genuine smile. 

"Are you sure? We can watch them a little longer if you want to talk to Waverly," Jeremy offered. 

Robin furrowed his brows and patted his boyfriends back. "I think they just want to be home with their kids," he said. " _Alone._ _"_

Nicole shook her head and took another sip of beer. "I appreciate Jeremy, I do. But Robin is right; I just want to be home alone with the kids." 

Jeremy nodded. "Well, let us know if you need anything," he said before pulling Nicole into a hug. 

"Anytime, Nicole. We loved it!" Robin said enthusiastically, hugging Nicole. 

"And we'll see you later bud!" Jeremy said bending down to Levi's height. 

"Maybe next time you can  _finally_ beat me at Candy Land!" he said happily. 

"You watch out," Jeremy said, mocking a threat. 

"See you soon Levi! Next time we'll take you out fishing to our favorite spot," Robin said with a wink. 

"By Uncle Jeremy and Uncle Robin!" Levi squealed before hugging them. 

His comment caught them all off guard and Nicole nearly choked on her beer. Uncles, was he considering them uncles now? Is that even a good idea since they still don't know how permanent their situation is? 

"Oh, uh we'll see you later bud!" Jeremy said before they both walked out of the door. 

Nicole set her beer down and knelt so she was eye level with Levi. 

Levi smiled and ran up to Nicole, wrapping his small little arms around her neck and giving her the tightest hug he could muster. 

"I missed you, buddy," Nicole said sincerely. 

"I missed you, too! I beat Uncle Jeremy at Candy Land 5 times!" he said proudly. 

"That's an amazing bug! He is a bit of a board game expert," Nicole said with a smile. 

Levi let out a big yawn. 

"How about we have some quiet time before dinner, ok?" Nicole said, standing up and picking Levi up with her. She was expecting Levi to argue, but he didn't he just laid his head down on her shoulder and complied. 

She walked into his and his sister's room and gently set him down on his bed before tucking him in. He was already half asleep by the time she tucked him in. She leaned in and gave him a quick kiss on the forehead. 

"I love you, bug," she whispered, before quietly exiting the room and getting his sister and setting her in her crib for a nap. 

Last but not least she went and got Hazel and put her down for her nap, too. She finally put them all down for their naps and walked into their bedroom to find Waverly asleep in bed. Nicole gave a weak smile, she was hoping to talk, but she was glad that Waverly was getting some sleep, considering she hasn't been sleeping that much lately. 

Nicole decided she would take this time to go to the gym. She hadn't been able to go lately because of the kids, but now was a perfect time and she had been missing working out. While at the moment it wasn't her favorite, but in the long run, she loved what it did for her. 

She changed into her gym clothes, filled her water bottle, grabbed her gym bag, and left a note on the counter before walking out the door. 

 

***

 

Nicole walked into the house to smell dinner cooking in the oven and Waverly holding Hazel while the kids played in the living room. Waverly turned around and looked at Nicole and gave a forced smile before turning back around and setting Hazel in her pack and play before getting up to greet Nicole. 

"Hi, sweetie. I'm sorry about earlier, I just overreacted," Waverly said quietly.

Nicole smiled and took Waverly's hands in her own and pulled her close.

"It's ok, and I'm sorry that this is all happening so fast, I didn't mean it to happen that way," Nicole said, kissing Waverly on the forehead.

"You can't control it, and you just want the best for the kids," Waverly said, looking up at Nicole with misty eyes. "I understand, it's just a lot, and it might take some time to process this all."

"I'm sorry, Waverly," Nicole said, pulling her into a big hug. "Thank you for being here for the kids and me. I know, it's so much to process. And I had no intentions of piling it on you and just expecting to go with it. Those weren't my intentions at all. Just tell me how you're feeling, we can talk it out and work through it. I don't want to feel like less, not anymore."

Nicole was referring to Champ and how he treated her. When they first started dating, Waverly often expressed how awful Champ treated her and how she felt like a piece of property and not a person when she was with them. And it infuriated Nicole to no end. She promised to Waverly and herself that she would never, in a million years treat her Waverly like that. And yet, here she was, treating her like she was less than. 

"No, honey, no. I'm not communicating, you often ask me how I feel and give me multiple opportunities to express my feelings, and I refuse to tell you," Waverly said quietly, avoiding eye contact.

"Why, baby? You know you can tell me anything," Nicole said, moving a stray piece of hair from Waverly's face.

Waverly shrugged. "I guess a part of me is still scared of your reaction. I mean with Champ, he would get super pissed and yell at me, tell me I'm worthless, tell me I'm nothing. I know you would never do something like that, but sometimes a part of me still feels like that scared 20-year-old girl, afraid to say how I feel and even question if I'm allowed to feel this way."

Nicole wiped a falling tear from Waverly's face. "I know you know that I would never treat you like that. And I know that that part of your past is always going to be there. But reassured, I would  _never_ treat you like that. You deserve nothing but respect, and I'm going to do everything in my power to treat you with respect. You can tell me how you're feeling and we'll find a way to get through it, together."

Waverly smiled and looked up at Nicole with watery eyes. Nicole smiled and kissed Waverly softly on the lips. 

"Have I told you lately that I love you?" she asked playfully. 

"No, I don't believe you have," Waverly said playing along. 

"Well, Waverly Earp. I love you, with every fiber of my being. You are the absolute love of my life and my best friend. I couldn't imagine life without you, and I'm so glad that I somehow got you to say yes to marrying me," Nicole said with a corny, yet adorable smile. 

"Dork," Waverly mumbled jokingly. She pulled Nicole down to give her a long kiss on the lips. "I love you too, sweetie."

Nicole pulled her into another big hug, resting her chin on the top of Waverly's head. 

"I never say this enough, but thank you. Thank you for your constant support, love, and your constant ability to be patient and understanding. I appreciate it more than you know. I love you, so, so much."

"I'm always going to be here Nicole," Waverly said, pulling Nicole in for a tighter hug. 

In the middle of their apologies and hugs, the timer in the kitchen went off. 

"Oh, yay!" Waverly squealed in excitement. "I made a spaghetti squash casserole!" 

Nicole laughed at Waverly as she happily trotted off into the kitchen to get dinner out of the oven. 

"Time for dinner," Nicole said as she walked into the living room to get the two babies. 

Levi happily ran into the kitchen while Nicole followed behind and got them set up in their high chairs. 

Waverly put a little spaghetti squash in their trays that she had set aside to cool down. She served Nicole and Levi food before herself. Tonight it was Nicole's night to feed Hazel. Ferryn could hand feed herself by now. 

"Where were you guys today?" Levi asked in the middle of dinner. 

Nicole stopped eating and stared up at Waverly, looking for reassurance to tell him about where they were today. 

Waverly slowly nodded and looked back over at Levi, who was staring back and forth at them. 

"Well, bud," Nicole said, putting her fork down. "We were talking to an old friend that knew your parents." Nicole paused, giving time for Levi to process before she continued. 

"Why?" he asked.

"We wanted to find out more about your parents now that you guys are living with us," Nicole said calmly. 

"Why?" 

Waverly smiled to herself; she thought Levi's 4-year-old curiosity was cute. 

"We just wanted to know about the two people that brought these two adorable kids came into this world," Waverly said with a warm smile. 

"Oh," Levi said, a little disappointed. "DId you see mommy and daddy?" 

Waverly and Nicole quickly glanced up at each other. 

"No, we didn't. Sorry sweetie," Nicole said, carding her fingers through his soft, brown hair. 

"Where are they?" 

"Uh," Waverly said, not sure what to say. 

"We're not sure, sweetie. But tomorrow morning we're going to go up to Calgary and get some more answers," Nicole said hastily, saying the first thing that came to mind. "So that means Jeremy and Robin are going to come back tomorrow to hang out with you guys."

Levi's eyes widened and a huge smile formed on his face. "Yay! Oh, he said he would take me to the carnival!"

"Yeah, that's going to be so much fun," Nicole said with a smile. 

Waverly looked back up at Nicole with weary eyes, she didn't like that they were lying to Levi, but right now they hadn't talked about how to address this situation to him. 

They continued eating; it was a silent dinner for the most part. LIke usual, Nicole bathed them while Waverly did the dishes. They got them ready to bed, read a book, and put them to sleep. However, there were a few things on both of their minds; what was going to happen tomorrow and how they were going to tell the kids. It wasn't going to be easy, but they both didn't want to continue lying to them. 

They went to bed early that night, knowing they were in for a long day. 

 


	23. Calgary

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nicole, Waverly, and Wynonna head up to Calgary to find out more about Levi and Ferryn's father. But they get some unexpected answers and one request that might flip their world upside down... again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'allllll. I really hope you guys are enjoying this fic so far :) I really enjoy writing something other than Wayhaught fluff, but that's always fun to write, too. I appreciate the kudos and support so much! Keep 'em coming!
> 
> Also, I've decided to change a few things about their dad's past. So instead of just plain arson, he ended up killing someone in the fire, which got him life in prison. So yeah, dark, but I promise this fic is going to be good !
> 
> And go easy on me for the spelling mistakes in this chapter, I wrote this late at night and I was exhausted and my brain wasn't working, haha.

"I can't do this," Waverly said quietly. 

They were standing outside the doors of the Calgary Correctional Center, just about to go in and talk to Levi and Ferryn's father in hopes to get some more answers. 

"Yes you can, baby. We're right here," Nicole said with a smile, holding out her hand. 

"Don't worry, babygirl," Wynonna said. 

"Um,

"Um, I think I'm just going to wait in the car," she said, quickly turning around and attempting to make a beeline for the car. 

"No, no," Nicole said, quickening her pace and catching up Waverly, gently grabbing her hand and turning her back around. "I know you're nervous, but we're right here, baby. And there's not much he can really do. He's going to be in handcuffs and there's going to be a guard with us too. And I am a cop, I can take someone down if needed. And I  _know_ you can, too."

Instead of it being regular visit in the visitation room, they were doing it in an interrogation room, in case things got ugly. Which they were all hoping wouldn't be turn out that way. 

"Don't worry babygirl, I'll kick his ass if he turns out to be an aggressive asshole," Wynonna said, wrapping her arm around Waverly's shoulders. 

Waverly nodded and grabbed both her wife's and sisters hands in her own. Nicole placed a soft kiss to Waverly's temple before they walked into the correctional center. 

They walked up to the front desk to check in. 

"We're here to see Henry Wood, we have an 11:30 appointment," Nicole said calmly. 

The front desk attendant sighed and threw his magazine down and looked up at the three with an annoyed look. 

"Name?"

"Nicole Haught."

He sighed and scrolled through his computers and clicked his mouse a few times before looking back up. 

"Go through those doors there and take a right, there should be a guard waiting to take you into an interrogation room," he said with an aggrieved tone. 

He pressed a button under the desk, there was a buzz and the sound of a lock unlatching. 

Nicole led the way and opened the cell door to the rest of the building. She took a right like the attendant said and met a guard at the end of the hallway. 

He was wearing a full dark navy uniform and had spiked black, peppered hair. 

"Nicole Haught?" he asked. 

She shook her head yes and gave a weak smile. 

"Follow me," he said, taking another right down another long hallway. They finally reached the end of the hallway and the last interrogation room. The room was empty, with a few metal chairs and a metal table. 

"Oh geez," Waverly mumbled, sitting down on the cold and rusted chair. 

Waverly sat in the middle of both her sister and wife. She was anxiously waiting for what was going to come next, her leg was bouncing up and down like crazy. 

Nicole gently squeezed Waverly's thigh in an attempt to cal her anxious nerves. 

Waverly took Nicole's hand in hers and rested them on her right thigh, just below the table. 

"What do you guys think he's going to be like?" Wynonna asked, boring her weight over the table on her forearms. 

No one answered, Wynonna looked over and saw that everyone was ignoring her. She rolled her eyes and let out a small sigh and decided to continue the conversation; with herself. 

"Well, what do you think he's going to say?"

Nothing. 

Wynonna rolled her eyes and shook her head and gave up. But she didn't have time to pout for long because the door opened a few minutes later. 

In walked Henry Wood, very a tall man with slicked back, mainly dark peppered hair, a short beard, tattoos all up and down his arms and on his neck, in an oranger jumper with handcuffs around his arms and ankles. He was scruffy and very grumpy.

He sat down across from them and threw a yellow envelope on the table. He leaned back in his chair and gave them a stare down. All three women were unsure of what to do. 

"So, you must be the ladies that are taking care of my two little ones?" he said sullenly. 

Wynonna held up her hands in surrender. "Not me," she said. "Those two," she said pointing to Nicole and Waverly, who both gave him sheepish smiles. "I'm as straight as your prison sentence."

"Wynonna!" Nicole chastised, glaring right at her. 

He gave a devilish smile and looked up at her. "That's pretty good." 

Nicole quickly glanced over at Waverly before extending her hand to him. 

"I'm Nicole," she said warmly.

He looked down at her hand and looked back up at Nicole, not moving a muscle. 

"This is my wife, Waverly." She gestured her hand over to Waverly, who extended her hand, giving a nervous smile. 

He looked at her too, not bothering to shake her hand. 

Waverly retreated it nervously and quickly put her hand back under the table, resting on her lap. 

"Two dykes?" he asked with another sinister smile. 

"Hey," Wynonna warned, leaning on the table, staring him right in the eye. "Let's not forget the one who's in prison," she said in a demeaning tone. 

He leaned back and relaxed his shoulders. 

"Never said I had a problem with it. Hell, my sister is gay. Well, was gay, she's dead now," he said nonchalantly 

"Oh my gosh," Waverly said looking up at him. "I'm so sorry." Just the thought of losing Wynonna could send her into a mere panic. 

"Don't be, she had it coming," he said with a disturbing laugh, leaning forward again. One thing Nicole had noticed that he could never sit still and was always shifting his weight or playing with his hands. "She was a dealer, heroin addict. Deal went bad; she didn't have enough to pay for her addiction, he got mad and long story short we buried her with a hole in her head." 

Waverly brought her hand up to her mouth in disbelief. She couldn't believe how relaxed she was being about what he was sharing. 

"But she and her wife were damn good aunts. I loved 'em both, but they didn't really have much of a chance with the life I lived."

"Why?" Wynonna blurted out, not thinking about his feelings. "Ow!" she yelled out, rubbing her shin. "What the hell was that for?" she asked angrily, looking over at Nicole. 

"You're being rude," she grunted, trying to keep her voice down even though everyone in the room could clearly hear what she was saying. 

"It's fine. I really don't care anymore," he said waving his hands, which were shackled by handcuffs. "Died from an overdose. She was addicted to opioids, kept saying it was for 'chronic pain.' "

He rolled his eyes and said the last statement in a mocking tone.

"Complete horseshit. It took me a long time to muster up the courage to try and tell them to stop. I had a family, a wife, I didn't want her or her pimps coming after me or worse, my kids. Or even them, whenever they'd get high, they'd become violent, different people. But they were amazing aunts before their addiction got worse. Always willing to babysit if Rose and I wanted to go out, pick them up from school, swim lessons. You name it, she did it. She never did drugs or anything when she was on babysitting duty. But when she got really addicted and got high all the time, she was violent and aggressive. So I decided that they shouldn't be seeing them anymore and I wouldn't let the kids go over there anymore," he said disheartened. 

"But they got mad, they got so mad. They demanded to see them, would come banging on the doors whenever they pleased, mostly late at night when the kids were asleep. But before I even tried to talk to them about their addiction, it was too late. My wife had already gotten addicted too, and I," he paused and looked down, ashamed. 

"I just," his voice cracked and he looked up, his eyes red and watery. "I was a coward, I was afraid that I couldn't do it myself, so I stayed and put those kids in that awful situation. I was an awful father, I  _am_ an awful father, I let them hang out with their drug-addicted, violent aunts _and_ mother. I mean, what the hell, I don't know why I ever thought that was a good idea. I was so ashamed that I looked to drugs to try and drown my guilt, but I soon too became addicted. And it took over," he paused, wiping a tear. "I did some stupid shit and got landed here, in prison." 

Waverly sat there, wiping a tear falling from her eye. Nicole comforted Waverly, by rubbing her back and Wynonna sat back, letting all that information soak in.

"All I had as an example was my father, another drug and alcohol addicted loser who couldn't give two shits whether his kids lived or died. I promised myself from a real young age that I wouldn't be that father to my future children, and I failed. I'm a failure as a father," his voice cracked again, it became weaker with each word. His eyes became red and watery again, but he wiped them before the tears threatened to fall.

He looked down at the envelope and pointed to it.

"Open it."

Nicole looked up at him and looked back down at the envelope and grabbed it hesitantly.

"What is it?" Wynona asked while Nicole opened the envelope.

He ignored her and continued to watch Nicole open it, taking all of the contents out. 

Nicole read them while Waverly glanced over her shoulder, not really able to get a clear view. 

There was a few moments before Nicole looked up at him, nothing but shock in her eyes. 

"I know, it's a lot," he said with a sigh. 

"Can someone tell me what the hell is going on here?" Wynonna asked grumpily. 

"They're adoption papers," she said quietly. "And," she pulled another few pieces of paper out of the yelled package. 

"It's my other daughter, Spencer, she's 15," he said with a soft tone. "She got put in the system just a few months before I got arrested."

"Why didn't they take Levi and Ferryn with them?" Waverly asked, looking up at him. She was also shocked, but for some odd reason seemed to be taking it better than her wife. 

Nicole continued to read over the file of Spencer Rose Wood. She was completely flabbergasted. 

"They never had official birth certificates or records. They were birth on the floor on the little eight by six bathroom in the trailer. By an old nurse who lived next to us. We just printed a birth certifcate template from the internet and wrote it out ourselves, just to have just in case. But we never made it official," he said shamefaced. 

"They happened to be down for a nap in the other room with the door closed. Social services came, didn't ask any questions and took Spencer away." His eyes were full of sadness and ashame.

"How was Spencer?" Nicole asked with genuine concern. 

"She was upset, but you could tell there was a part of her happy to get out of there. And I don't blame her. If I were her I'd want to get out too." 

"Where is she now?" Wynonna asked, grabbing the papers and looking them overherself. 

He shrugged his shoulders and made a face. "I don't know. In foster care somewhere. I know you already have three on your hands, but she was so attatched and protective of her younger siblings. They loved her and she loved them. As happy as she was to get out, she was devestated about leaving them. She would do almost anything for them, even if that meant skipping school or getting in trouble with the cops," he smiled nostagically. 

"When she was 13, she was with Levi in town, he was two. They ran across a little farm fresh market. He wanted this one, bright red apple so badly, but she didn't have any money for it. But she just couldn't say no to him, so she stole it. She wasn't very sly about it, before she could already take another step the owner grabbed her by the hand and told her to sit behind the front desk and called the police. They let her off with a warning," he sighed and shook his head. "But ever since then she was labled as a trouble maker, someone to avoid and be cautious of. But that's not my little girl. She just has a heart so big it clouds her judgement sometimes."  

Nicole and Waverly smiled. Waverly squeezed Nicole's thigh, Spencer kind of reminded her of Nicole. Nicole had a big heart and would do anything for anyone. It was one of the qualities absolutely loved about her.

"When Levi and Ferryn found out, they were absolutely heartbroken. Ferryn would look around for her older sister, she wanted nothing more than to be held by her. She would cry even harder if we picked her up. She wailed, and sometimes even cried so much to the point where she would exhuast herself. Levi yearned for her to pick him up from school and take them to the park. He resented us and wouldn't let us do anything. It took a year for them to finally come back to living a semi-normal life again." 

Waverly noticed a tattoo on his left arm, it as their initials, running up and down his forearm. It was simple, yet so beautiful and so meaninful. 

"Look," he said looking at all three of them. "She writes to me, every week. She misses them,  _so_ much. She mentions it in almost every letter. It's a lot to take in and four kids is going to be pretty hectic. And please know that I wouldn't do this under any other circumstances, but this isn't any other circumstance. She's been getting in trouble with the law, been on probation, skipping school, getting expelled. She  _needs_ to be with those kids again, she needs something to bring her back to reality, remind her how much she loves her little brother and sister and help her realize she's going down the wrong path. She won't come to that realization on her own," he looked at them with desperation in his eyes, pleading with them as best he could. 

"She's a really good kid, trust me. She's just been dealt a shitty hand. I don't want her going down the same path her mother and I went down," he said, gesturing towards himself. 

"What are you asking?" Wynonna asked suspiciously, fishing for answers. 

He paused before answering. "If you could take her in, she misses them and they miss her, they haven't seen her in years. It would kill me if she ended up like us. And I know asking you to adopt them is just way too much. But if you could just keep them, y'know pass them onto the next foster family? Or add it to their file? I can't be a parent behind bars and I don't want them to be tied down by me. I don't want them to get seperated again and thrown around from home to home. I just need them to have a safe, loving, and permanent home. And maybe it's not you guys, but I've heard some really great things from Nedley and some of the other guards here," he said, fluttering his eyes over all threee of them. 

"I just need to know that you're going to take good care of them and love them and that they're safe with you guys. And do a better job than their mother and I did. And you don't have to take Spencer in, I'm not going to force or pressure you into it, but it would mean a whole lot to them," he said with a pleading look in his eyes. 

Waverly, Nicole, and Wynonna just sat there, dumbfounded and unsure of what to say. Nicole and Waverly just sat there, trying to process what had just been asked of them. The good in their hearts couldn't so no, but the reality part might. 

Henry sat there, glancing back and forth between them. After a few minutes of silence, and them pretending to read the files again, he sighed and got up. 

"Just think about it," he said, before walking up to the guard, letting him know he was done talking. 

Waverly watched as he walked away, he didn't look back. He just continued walking with his head down until he was out of sight.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What a chapter! Let me know what you guys think, also any suggestions might be helpful! Who knows I might throw a few in there ;)


	24. Life Isn't Perfect

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nicole realizes something and they both meet Spencer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all sorry about the last chapter, I didn't mean to post it lmao. I literally wrote that at midnight so my brain wasn't working properly. Also, the end of this chapter is a little rough because I just wanted to get it out. And the grammar in it is probably no bueno, but just ignore that lmao.

It was 10 AM on Sunday, and Waverly was making breakfast while Nicole got the kids ready. Nicole, Wynonna, and Waverly had some paperwork to go over, specifically job applications. They had been looking for a new secretary. They had already had three secretaries quit; all three said it their cases were too 'demonic' and 'hard to handle.' 

While Waverly was brewing a pot of coffee, but she couldn't help but notice Spencer's documents and the adoption papers sitting in her file just a few feet away on the granite marble counter. She was trying everything in her power not to let that be the only thing on her mind. But she wasn't doing a very good job, especially since a reminder of their conversation from a few days ago was just a few feet away from her.  

She sighed and stood there, watching a small stream of black liquid fall into the glass pot. She was trying to fight the urge to go and look at the papers; she didn't want to freak herself out. But eventually her urge took over, and she found herself walking over there anyway. 

She grabbed the beige file and opened it, pulling out a few papers. She inhaled sharply and looked over them for the hundredth time. 

"I don't know, maybe," Nicole said in the distance, her big boots clomping on the stairs. 

"I want Alice to come!" Levi said, walking quickly as he could down the big steps in front of him. 

"I wasn't looking at them!" Waverly exclaimed, sloppily throwing the paper back in her file and turning back to the pot of coffee. 

Nicole looked down to try and hid the smile forming on her face. She knew their situation wasn't a smiling or laughing matter, but her wife would be pretty damn cute sometimes. 

"Aw, baby," Nicole said, putting the girls in their high chairs, while Levi made a beeline for the toy bin in the living room. 

She walked over and wrapped her hands around her wife from behind, who had a spatula in hand and waiting for their scrambled eggs to cook. 

"We already discussed it, we've decided to take her in too, at least we have that out of the way," Nicole said, placing a soft kiss to Waverly's neck and resting her chin on her wife's' shoulder. 

They had already discussed if they would take her in or not the morning after they visited their father. They had decided that they would and that it was best for the kids and their big sister. The only thing they had left to do was figure out what room they could turn into another bedroom. 

"I know, but what if she hates it, or hates us, or both? What if we can't help her with her Algebra homework because they figured out a whole new way to teach math and she flunks out of high school? Nicole-"

Nicole gently placed her hand over Waverly's mouth, effectively stopping her rambling. Waverly slumped her shoulders and made an adorable pouty face and looked at Nicole. She was going to try and calm her down, but her wife's pouty face got her a little distracted.

"You're cute when you pout," Nicole said dreamily. 

Waverly rolled her eyes and pulled away and turned back to the eggs. 

"Nicole!" Waverly hissed. 

Nicole snapped back into reality and pulled Waverly back into her embrace, wrapping her arms around her wife's small waist. 

"I'm sorry," Nicole said, trying to be serious. "But try not to worry, ok? I know that's the most annoying and total opposite thing of what you want to hear. But I think we're going to be just fine. She was  _two_ foster moms as cops _and_ a gun crazed, boisterous and rowdy, slightly alcoholic foster aunt for backup, just in case things don't go well. Not to mention Doc and Jeremy and Robin, who can help her with her algebra homework," Nicole said with a wink. 

Waverly sighed and melted into her wife's embrace, hugging her tightly and relaxing her head into Nicole's chest, breathing in the calming scent of vanilla. 

"I just don't want to fuck it up," Waverly said quietly. 

"I know, baby. You won't, and you're not alone in this," Nicole said, rubbing her hand up and down Waverly's back to calm her down. 

Nicole took a big breath in but smelled something burning.

"What's that?" she asked, sniffing the air more. 

"Oh shit! The eggs!" Waverly yelled out, quickly pulling her self from Nicole and turning off the stove. 

"Dammit," Waverly said, looking down the dark brown eggs and black pan in front of her, try to dissipate the black smoke rising up from the burned eggs by waving her hand back and forth. 

Nicole opened a window and gently placed her hand on Waverly's back. 

"Go get, Levi, baby. It's ok, we can stop at the cafe for a quick bite to eat," Nicole took the pan with a towel to avoid burning her hand and threw the eggs in the garbage and put the pan in the sink. 

She grabbed the diaper bag and threw in some diapers, extra clothes, snacks, coloring books, the iPad, and a few toys. They felt bad asking Robin and Jeremy to babysit so often. They weren't too keen on having them come to the office with them, but at the same time they were happy to be spending some unorthodox family time. 

"Ladies first," Nicole said with a dorky smile, holding the door open for Waverly and the girls. 

Waverly giggled and walked to the car and got them all situated in their car seats. Nicole threw the diaper bag in the back and hopped in the driver's seat and started the car. She backed out of their driveway while Waverly went through a few applicants papers. 

It wasn't the most silent of drives, Hazel wouldn't stop crying, and Levi kept complaining about her crying, causing a bit of a headache for the both of them, but thankfully she stopped crying when they went to get breakfast at the cafe. 

 

***

 

Nicole pulled into her designated parking spot and turned the ignition off and immediately got to consoling Hazel. 

"Shh, what's wrong, sweet girl?" Nicole said, undoing Hazel in her car seat and picking her up, holding her close to her chest. Hazel stopped crying a few moments she was in her momma's arms. "Just wanted some cuddles, huh?" 

Waverly watched with a smile as she got the rest out of their car seats; she loved how good Nicole was with their kids. She really couldn't have fallen in love with a better partner. 

"Ok, Levi, so you guys are going to be in Nicole's office while we work ok?" Waverly said to Levi. "So you're going to have to be extra quiet while we work." 

Levi shook his head and let go of Waverly's hand and ran ahead to Nicole's office door, which was locked. Waverly and Nicole had bought a new desk; both put across from each other so they could look at each other all day. Wynonna said it was unprofessional and gave her too much of 'The Notebook' vibes. But they thought it was cute.

Nicole and Waverly made their way eventually and unlocked the door, letting Levi run and jump into Nicole's office chair, typing on her keyboard and playing with everything on her desk. 

"Come sit over here, bud," Waverly said, motioning him to come over and sit on the couch with her hand. He jumped off the chair and ran to the couch, grabbing his backpack and grabbing out his toys. 

Waverly got Ferryn set up with her stuff and set her down, grabbing all their toys out of the diaper bag and laying them on the floor. Ferryn immediately went for the Mickey Mouse doll, shoving his hand into her mouth. 

Nicole tried to set Hazel down in her carrier, but she immediately started getting fussy and started to cry. 

"C' mon sweetie, you have to hang out in here for a little while," she said, rocking her in her carrier and rubbing her head with the pad of the thumb.

Hazel cried even louder and held out her hands for Nicole. 

Nicole sighed and gave a weak smile. 

"Ok, Hazey," she said, picking Hazel back up. "I guess you can help me get some work done," she said with a smile, nuzzling her nose into the crook between her nose and eye. 

"Wynonna should be here soon," Waverly said, standing up after both kids with happy and situated with their toys. 

Waverly walked over to her desk and took her seat and started going through some papers when heard Ferryn start to whimper. She noticed her quickly crawling over to Waverly while letting out soft cries. 

"What's wrong, honey?" Waverly cooed, pushing her wheely chair away from her desk. She leaned down and watched her crawl over to her and look up to her, holding her arms out to be held. 

"Want some cuddles, too?" Waverly smiled and bent down and picked her up, holding her close to her. "I guess we could use two extra helpers." Waverly looked up at smiled at her wife, who was smiling back at her. 

"Levi!" a high pitched voiced reverberated down the hallway. Running in came Alice, with Wynonna following behind. 

"Alice!" Levi got up and ran over to her and they both gave each other a hug. 

"Wanna come play with me?" Alice asked, gesturing outside of Nicole's office, where the secretary's desk was. 

"Ok!" 

"Just right outside here," Wynonna said, walking into the office and plopping herself down the couch. She laid down and rubbed her eyes with her hands. 

"How many hippy-dippy, lightweight, losers do we have to go through? I'm sick of having one person after another walkout because they can't handle a few demons from hell," Wynonna whined, sitting up.

"Between the two of us we really only have like 7, so not that many," Nicole said with a sigh. 

Wynonna raised an eyebrow and looked down at the couch she was currently sitting on. 

"Have you had sex on this couch?" Wynonna asked, giving them both a disgusted look. 

"Yes," Nicole said, not bothering to take her eyes off her the applications. "Multiple times." 

Waverly chuckled and continued to look at the papers in front of her.

Wynonna gagged and stood up. "Gross." She walked over to her little desk in the corner. 

"Well, it is  _my_ office," Nicole said. "I just happen to be generous enough to let you guys share it with me." 

"Um, I'm your wife, you don't really have a choice," Waverly said with a smirk.

"Well, what's your excuse Wynonna?" Nicole asked with a raised eyebrow. 

"Letting you date and marry my baby sister," she said, glaring at Nicole. 

Nicole ignored her sister-in-law and looked down at Hazel, who was currently gnawing at Nicole's black tie, covering it in baby spit. 

"Hey!" Nicole exclaimed, gently taking the tie from Hazel's mouth. "Here," she reached for one of Hazel's toys. "Chew on this, not my tie." 

Nicole smiled as her daughter gladly took her toy and started chewing on it. They all got to work, filling out more paperwork and going through some more applicants. Wynonna and Waverly mainly worked on those, Nicole worked on bills and a possible starting salary for their new possible secretary. 

In the middle of their work, Nicole looked up at her wife, with Ferryn in her arms, she looked over at Levi and Alice playing outside her office and looked down at her sweet baby girl who was sucking on her pacifier and just about to fall asleep in her arms. She even looked over at Wynonna, who had headphones in and was currently headbanging to AC/DC while reading over papers.  She knew how lucky she was, but sometimes she needed to stop and just look around and remind herself how she had such a perfectly imperfect life. And she just knew, this was her family, all three kids, her wife, a crazy sister-in-law, a western gun-slinger, and two nerdy uncles who couldn't be more lovable. 

Sure, things never went the way they wanted it to and sometimes things could get hectic. But she wouldn't want it any other way. She had to hold back her tears, not wanting to cause any attention to herself, but the thought that her wife and kids were actually real and not a fantasy, gave Nicole butterflies. She knew their two newest additions weren't "permanent," but all they had to do was draw up some adoption papers and put their signature on them. And that was that they were theirs to keep. And quite frankly, she couldn't wait until they added a fourth to their little family. 

 

***

 

_**Four Days Later** _

"This was a mistake," Waverly said, pacing back and forth in the kitchen, stealing a few glances out the window. 

They were anxiously waiting for Wynonna to come and drop off Spencer, the kids older sister. Nicole was excited and nervous, but Waverly was more nervous than excited, at least right now. 

"It's going to be just fine, she's just a normal teenager girl. And they all more or less act the same," Nicole said, walking over to Waverly and wrapping her arms around her waist. 

"Baby, she's not exactly  _normal,_ she's had a rough life. Parents who were addicts, she got in trouble with the law, and she's been tossed around from foster home to foster home. I think this is going to be a little harder than you think," Waverly said, pulling away from Nicole, looking out the window ago, scanning the road for Wynonna's blue pickup truck. 

"Well, I guess who got me there," Nicole said with a chuckle. "Hey," she said, walking over towards Waverly who was still looking out the window. She grabbed Waverly's hand and pulled her into her embrace and held her tightly.

"I know you're nervous, I am too. But if anyone could take in  _three_ kids, it's you. I know it wasn't easy for you to take Levi and Ferryn in, but you did, and you haven't looked back. You've taken every with grace. Waverly, you are the sweetest and kindest person I know. You are such a good mother and our kids love you so much and I love you," Nicole smiled, leaning in and giving her wife a sweet kiss on the lips. "So...," kiss. "Much...," kiss. 

"If anyone is meant to do this it's you. I have no doubts in my mind, sweetie. And if you doubt yourself, I have enough confidence for the both of us." Nicole smiled down at her wife, whose eyes were currently glistening with a few tears threatening to fall. She wiped them gently with the pad of her thumb. 

"You always know what to say," she said between sniffles. "I love you so much." Waverly stood on her tippy toes and grabbed Nicole by the face and pulled her into a searing kiss. 

Just in the middle of their mini-makeout session, Levi came running into the room. 

"When is Spencer going to be here!?" he asked excitedly. 

Just a couple days earlier they had sat down with him and talked with him about what the situation was, with their father and sister. He seemed to take it pretty well, as well as a four-year-old could anyway. He asked only a few questions and was mainly excited about seeing his older sister again. He asked every day almost every five minutes when she was going to be here since then. 

Waverly pulled away, but Nicole desperately wanted to keep kissing.

"Soon, buddy," Waverly said, walking over and picking him up.  "Are you excited?"

"Yes!" he exclaimed happily. "I haven't seen her in a long time," yearningly.

Suddenly, headlights pulled into their dirt driveway, followed by Wynonna's blue pickup truck. 

"She's here!" Levi shouted, practically jumping out of Waverly's arms. He ran to the door and stood on his tippy-toes and turned the doorknob and ran out the door, waiting at the door until the blue pickup parked in their driveway. 

Nicole followed Levi, making sure he didn't run out in front of Wynonna's truck. Waverly was left behind, left thinking about everything that could possibly go wrong. 

Waverly soon followed, standing next to her Nicole and Levi, everything was moving in slow motion for her. The sound of the ignition turning off, Wynonna swinging her feet over the step up and onto the gravel ground. And Spencer, opening the car door and getting out of the car, only able to see her black boots through the small sliver of space between the car and the ground. 

Spencer was just your typical teenager. She had strawberry blonde hair and blue eyes, she was tall, like Nicole. She was wearing black ripped jeans, black boots, a beige hoodie with a jean jacket. She looked terrified, yet upset and angry at the same time. The only thing she had with her was a beaten up, faded red backpack. 

"Spencer!" Levi squealed, running over to his big sister. 

Spencer's clenched jaw relaxed a little at the sight of her little brother who she hadn't seen in years. She formed a genuine smile and kneeled down, letting Levi run happily into her arms. 

"I've missed you so much buddy," Spencer said, giving him a kiss on the head, her voice was barely above a whisper.

Wynonna walked over to Nicole and Waverly, who was watching Spencer and Levi have a heartful reunion. 

"You sure about this?" Wynonna asked. 

Nicole nodded and opened her mouth, but Waverly cut her off. 

"It was the best thing to do," Waverly said quietly, avoiding eye contact and looking back over at Spencer and Levi. "For both of them." 

"She's quiet," Wynonna said, joining the both of them at looking over at the two siblings as well. "And she's scared. She's probably going to hate your guts for a good week or so." Wynonna patted Nicole's shoulder, encouraging them to go and introduce themselves. 

Nicole nodded and put her hand on Waverly's back, leading them both over to Spencer. 

Spencer saw them walking towards her and her smile fell, her eyes narrowed and her shoulders slumped. 

Nicole gave her warmest smile. "I'm Nicole," she said, extending her hand. "And this is my wife, Waverly."

Waverly smiled and extended her hand as well. "Nice to meet you, Spencer."

Spencer pressed her lips together and stared at both of their hands before finally shaking it with a flimsy grip. She gave them a forced smile and turned back to her brother, who was tightly hugging her leg. 

Nicole pointed to the house with her thumb and jerked her head, motioning them to the house. 

"Let's show you your room," Nicole said with a smile, letting the kids go first, walking on the rock sidewalk up to their porch and into their house. Waverly stayed behind and talked with her sister. 

"Call me if you need anything," Wynonna said, pulling her sister into a big hug. "Don't let her rattle you, she's just scared and half the shit that comes out of her mouth she doesn't mean."

Waverly sniffled and wiped a tear threatening to fall. "How do you know?"

"Because I was her once," Wynonna said, thinking back her foster home days. "I didn't mean anything I said, not to you, mama, daddy, Aunt Gus, _and_ Uncle Curtis. I was just scared and angry and the only way I knew to protect myself was by pushing anyone that ever cared about me away. Just be patient with her." Wynonna gave a warming smile and wiped a tear with the pad of her thumb and kissed the top of her sister's head. 

"Call me," she said, walking back to her truck. 

Waverly stood there for a few seconds, pulling herself together before walking into the house. 

"So, I know your room isn't much," Nicole said, walking downstairs with the kids following. Spencer had Ferryn in her arms and they were both happily catching up while simultaneously listening to Nicole. 

"We're currently working on finding more space. But we picked out what we thought you would like best," Nicole said, spotting her wife out of the corner of her eye. 

Waverly walked towards them and smiled. 

"Are you happy to see them?"

Spencer withheld the big smile that was erupting on her face. "Yeah, I missed them. It's been a long time." 

"Well we were just about to have dinner, what would you like?" Waverly asked. 

Spencer shrugged her shoulders and looked back at Nicole. 

"We could do pizza or Chinese," Waverly said, walking over to their take-out menus. "There's Thai or Indian, but I suggest we make the Indian food at home, the place in town sucks." She looked back up at Spencer, hoping for an answer. 

"Pizza I guess," she said with a mopey tone. 

Waverly nodded and pulled out the take out menu. "What kind of toppings do you..." Waverly looked up to see Spencer stomping upstairs, followed by the slam of a door. 

Nicole walked over to Waverly and pulled her into a hug. "She's just scared, she's in a new place and doesn't mean anything she says or does."

"She hates us," Waverly said quietly into Nicole's chest. 

Nicole pulled away and looked lovingly into her wife's eyes. "She doesn't hate you, it's impossible to hate you. You have such a big heart and you're so kind to everyone. Not to mention you're sexy as hell." 

Nicole smirked and reached down and cupped her wife's ass, which earned her a giggle and a playful arm slap from Waverly. 

"Thank you, baby," Waverly said, blushing. "I guess you're right. Wynonna said the same thing, actually." 

"Great minds think alike," Nicole said with a wink. "We'll get through it, don't worry," She rubbed the side of Waverly's arm in support and leaned in and gave her a kiss on the forehead. 

Waverly groaned and pulled out her cell phone. " I hope she likes pepperoni and vegan pizza," she mumbled. 

"Well, she doesn't really have a choice, we don't have any food in the house." Nicole chuckled at herself, they hadn't been grocery shopping in almost a week and the only thing they really had in the house was some old, wilted lettuce, a package of hot dogs, which Nicole bought when she was drunk, and a few old crackers for a snack in the pantry. They probably should throw all that out, anyway. 

 

A half an hour later the pizza arrived and it was time to get Spencer. Hopefully she would be willing to leave her room. Nicole volunteered as tribute this time.

"Spencer?" she said, knocking on the bedroom door. "We ordered pizza, we got pepperoni. It's out in the kitchen for you and your brother." She stood there awkwardly, waiting for an answer or at least a muffled sound, letting her know that she was at least listening. 

She heard a little muffling and the door open, so she stepped back out of the doorway. 

Instead of Spencer, Levi happily came out of the door and ran down the stairs, his sister, however, continued to lay in bed and stare at the ceiling.

Nicole stood in the door frame, trying to find the right words to say. 

"Um, pizza's downstairs. Better get to it before your brother and I get to it first," she said with a weak smile. 

Spencer rolled her eyes and sat up. "Yeah, I know. I heard you." 

"Are you hungry?" Nicole asked, stepping into the room. 

"No," she said, staring at her bare knees through the rip of her jeans. 

"Ok, well, we'll leave some out if you get hungry later," she said, turning back towards the door. "We do have some vegan pizza if you want to try it."

Spencer turned to Nicole with a face of disgust. "What? Vegan pizza? Is that a joke?" 

Nicole smiled and looked down at her feet, which were sporting black ankle socks. "I know, sounds gross right?" She sat on the bed to the left of Spencer's, which happened to be Levi's 

"Waverly is vegan, so whenever we order, we make sure it has vegan options. And that also means a lot of the stuff that we make here is also vegan." 

Spencer looked over at Nicole. "Sound gross."

Nicole nodded. "I thought that too at first. But not everything tastes bad. Some of it is actually quite good." 

An awkward silence passed between the two of them. 

"Pizza's waiting downstairs," Nicole said, cocking her head towards the door. 

Spencer rolled her eyes and sighed. She swung her legs over the bed and slowly walked downstairs, Nicole following behind.

"Come try the vegan pizza! It's really good!" Levi exclaimed, hopping off of his booster seat with pizza in his hand.

"Levi," Waverly chastised. She pointed to the chair next to her. "We leave the food at the table and we have to ask to be excused, remember?" she asked with a soft tone. 

He ran back over and climbed into his booster seat. "Come eat!"

Both babies were in their high chairs, Hazel was enjoying some baby food and Ferryn was slowly eating some pepperoni and sweet potatoes. 

Waverly got up and walked over to the pizza boxes. "We have vegan pizza and pepperoni. You could try my vegan one or chicken out like Nicole and go with the basic option."

"Hey!" Nicole said with a smile. "It just wasn't my cup of tea."

Spencer shook her head and grabbed a slice of the other pizza. She sat down across from her brother and next to her sister, sitting cross-legged in the chair. 

It was quiet while everyone started to eat their food. Waverly and Nicole would glance over at Spencer, trying to get a read on her and what was going through her mind. 

Spencer rolled her eyes, uncrossed her legs and put her pizza down. "Ok, what do you guys want from me? You keep looking over at me like you want something."

Waverly stuttered and set down her pizza. She shook her head before answering. "What? No, we don't-"

She scoffed. "Please, this isn't my first foster home. Not my first with two lady-lovers either. They always want something, so, what's your deal?"

Waverly looked down in an attempt to hide the smile forming on her face. Spencer reminded her exactly of her sister, the same amount of spunk and sarcasm. 

"We just want to make sure you're settling in ok and that you're comfortable with living here," Nicole said warmly. "And with us." 

She took a deep breath in. "I'm fine, it's one of the better foster homes I've been in."

Waverly shook her head and smiled. "That's good, I'm glad you're comfortable."

There was another awkward silence, but this time Spencer was the one to speak first. 

"What did my dad say?" Spencer asked out of the blue. 

Nicole and Waverly looked over at each other with a slight panic, they knew there would be those questions, they just never took the time to sit down and discuss it.

"Um," Nicole said, wiping her mouth with her napkin. "He said that he knows that you guys got separated in the system and he asked us if we could take you in so you could be together." 

She pursed her lips and looked to the side with an annoyed face. "Did he tell you that I've gotten arrested before?"

Nicole shook her head. "Yes, he did."

"Great, you probably think I'm a juvenile delinquent don't you?" she said, glaring at them both. 

"No," Waverly answered immediately. "We know that you've had it rough and didn't have parents to parent you and show you right from wrong." 

"Whatever," she said with rolling her eyes. She pushed her plate away from her and got up, stomping upstairs and slamming the door behind her.

Waverly put her pizza down and buried her head in her hands. 

"Don't worry. We can handle it," Nicole said getting up, clearing the table. "We'll just give her the rest of the night to herself, give her some more time to settle in, just with by herself."

Waverly nodded and handed her plate to Nicole. 

"You go take a nice hot bath, ok? Light some candles, put on some John Mayer, and I think we have a new bottle of red in the wine rack," Nicole gently squeezed Waverly's shoulder and gave her a kiss on the head. 

Waverly placed her hand over Nicole's, which were now both resting on her shoulder.

"Thank you, baby," Waverly craned her head and kissed her hand. "I think I might just take you up on that." She got up and pulled Nicole into a deep kiss, dishes still in her left hand. "Come up with me? Y'know, help me get undressed, get the bubbles  _just right,_ " she said with a sultry tone.

Nicole giggled and set down the dirty dishes on the table. She looked at her wife, who was currently giving her sex eyes. "I have to clean up the kitchen and get the babies ready for bed, you go relax. You've been working hard the past few days." She leaned in and kissed her wife on the forehead, wrapping her arms around Waverly and holding her close. "You deserve a little 'me' time."

"Yeah, but you're my other half. So 'me' is technically you and I," Waverly said, being her own lawyer again. "So I can't have a little 'me' time without my better half. So either join me or enjoy the wrath of me being overtired and stressed." Waverly smirked at her wife, playing with the fiery red curls on the back of her neck. Nicole was stuck and there was no way of getting out of it. 

Nicole rolled her eyes and smiled. "Fine, give the babies a bath and put them down early. Levi is currently with his sister in their room, so we have to make it quick now that we have a 15-year-old in the house. Teenagers tend to have trouble knocking." 

Waverly smiled giddily and gave her wife a quick peck on the kiss. "I love you!" she squealed, turning back around and getting the babies out of their high chairs.  

Nicole turned back around and smiled at herself as she finished cleaning up the kitchen, her wife was really good at arguing her cases. Nicole thought she could honestly be a great lawyer. 

 

Nicole finished cleaning the kitchen and running the dishwasher just in time. She walked through their bedroom and into their bathroom. Waverly was getting the bubble bath out from under the sink.

"Just in time," Waverly winked. 

Nicole smiled and ran a bath. She grabbed some candles from the closet in the bathroom and lit them, setting them in the corner of the bathtub against the wall and some on the floor. They were all vanilla scented, which Waverly had insisted on. 

"Mrs. Haught," Waverly said in a sultry tone. 

Nicole turned around to see her wife topless and her breasts out on full display. Her jaw dropped and she couldn't stop staring. 

"Whoa," she said dumbfounded, mouth wide open. "I, um-"

"I have gotten my zipper stuck," he said, pointing at the zipper on her jeans. "Can you help me?" 

Nicole nodded and walked over and knelt down, slowly unzippering her jeans to reveal that Waverly was wearing no panties. She gulped and looked back up at her wife.

"Uh," Nicole said, looking Waverly up and down, before fitting her eyes towards Waverly's short brown hairs. 

"Uh, uh, uh," Waverly said, her pitch getting higher with each word. "I'm sorry, baby. I started my period this morning and besides, I just feel like being wrapped up in your arms anyway."

Nicole smiled and stood up. "Whatever you want, my love." Nicole pulled her close and kissed her passionately and cupped one of her breasts in her hand.

"Ow," Waverly winced and stepped back. 

"Sorry, baby. Here," she said stepping aside. "Get in and I'll just go check on the kids before I join you." 

"Ok, hurry back!" Waverly said cheerfully.

Nicole quietly popped into the babies room and found them both peacefully asleep. She walked down the hall just a few from the babies room and knocked on the door on the opposite wall. 

"Spencer, Levi? You guys ok for the night?" 

"We're fine," Spencer snapped, her voice muffled through the door. 

"Ok, just let us know if you need anything." Nicole stood there and waited for an answer, which she knew she wasn't going to get. She sighed and finally walked back into the bathroom to join her lovely naked wife in the bathtub. 

"How's she doing?" Waverly asked, a bathtub full of bubbles. 

"As well as she could be I guess."

Nicole undressed and slowly stepped into the bathtub. She sat behind Waverly and wrapped her arms around her torso and held her close.

Waverly smiled and intertwined their hands, resting them on her stomach. She smiles as Nicole peppered kisses in her neck and cheek. They haven't had any time to themselves lately, so it was really nice to be able to have a little bath just to themselves, despite the rubber ducks and bath toys in next to them on the shelf. 

Before they had kids, most nights like this one would end in sex. But lately, they have just been enjoying each other's company. Whether that meant cuddling or just hand-holding while they were out. 

"I've missed this," Waverly said quietly, leaning back into her wife's loving embrace. 

"Me too," Nicole said, kissing Waverly's shoulder. "I love our kids very much, but I have missed this." 

Waverly leaned her head back on Nicole's shoulder, closing her eyes and relishing the moment that they now rarely had. 

"Let's talk about you. What do you think of taking in all these kids?"

Nicole sighed and picked her head up from Waverly's shoulder. She hesitated, unsure what to say. 

"I know you love them, that's obvious. I wanna know what you're thinking about our next steps." Waverly craned her neck and kissed Nicole on the cheek. 

Nicole nodded. "I don't really know."

Nicole lied, she knew exactly what the next steps she wanted to take were. She wanted to adopt them and make them a part of their family. She knew that they had just met Spencer and Waverly probably wasn't on the same page, but she didn't want them being put back in the system. She knew what it was like to feel like you're not wanted or loved and she couldn't bear the thought of turning their back on them. But it was a lot and she knew Waverly had been struggling with it. She didn't want to put more onto Waverly then needed. 

"I want them to find their forever home," she said quietly. 

"I do too love," Waverly said, leaning back into Nicole. "It's what they deserve." Waverly knew that Nicole wanted to adopt them, it was obvious. But Waverly herself wasn't sure, she wanted the kids to be safe and loved and she wanted to make her wife happy. She knew that she loved them and she knew it would break her if they were sent to a different home. But she just wasn't sure where she stood. 

That was the end of the conversation, they just enjoyed each other's touch and shared a few sweet kisses here and there. They both didn't feel like talking about the kids and just wanted to take some time for themselves. It was a nice bath, the smell of rose scented bubbles and vanilla scented candles filled the room. And both happily being wrapped up each other's arms. 


	25. Anniversary: Part One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nicole and Waverly celebrate their 4 year wedding anniversary. And a few flashbacks to when they were dating and engagement and stuff. No angst, no kids, just fluff. 
> 
> I, unfortunately, don't write smut, it's not my thing, so I apologize if that's what you were looking for. But I'm sure there are plenty of other fics that write it!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can someone please find me a Nicole Haught? Please? I'm lonely and desperate af.
> 
> Also math-  
> Waverly and Nicole met when Nicole was 25 or 26, I'm really not sure.  
> Waverly is 5 years younger than Nicole. I think.  
> So 26-5=21.  
> 26+7= 33  
> 21+7=28 
> 
> So, Nicole is 33 and Waverly is 28- if I'm right.  
> And they got married at 29 and 24.

Waverly woke up to the smell of vegan, blueberry waffles, avocado toast, and what smelled like homemade peanut butter zucchini muffins. She looked over at the clock and saw that it read 9:47. She turned on her phone and saw that her alarm was off. 

She smiled to herself; it was her and her wife's four year wedding anniversary. They had agreed earlier to go throughout their day like normal and just have a nice night out, but apparently, Nicole had different plans for them. She swung her legs over the bed and threw on her slippers and robe, but she didn't bother putting on sweats over her panties like she usually would. 

She walked downstairs to find the radio up and Nicole preparing up a bed and breakfast tray. There was a small vase of tulips in the corner, a short stack of pancakes drizzled in syrup and powdered sugar, a small side of avocado toast, and a coffee from her favorite cafe downtown. Her heart skipped a beat; she honestly did not know what she deserved to have such an amazing wife. 

Nicole saw Waverly out of the corner of her eye and looked up and playfully rolled her eyes. 

"Waves! You were supposed to be asleep! I was going to surprise you with breakfast in bed," she said whined, throwing her hands on the counter beside her. She slumped her shoulders and walked over to her wife, who had a huge grin on her face. She was holding out her arms for Nicole. 

"Sorry, love," she said with a giggle. She wrapped her arms around Nicole's neck and pulled her in for a passionate kiss. 

"I thought we said we were just doing dinner," Waverly said with a quirked eyebrow. 

Nicole wrapped her arms around her wife's waist. "You've done everything for me, lately. You deserve way more than just dinner. So I hope a day just for us will do?"

Waverly grinned ear to ear, "It's perfect, it'll do. Everything will do." She cupped Nicole's jaw and pulled her into a searing kiss, having to arch her back to accommodate Nicole, who was hovering over her. 

"Where are the kids?" Waverly asked after they pulled away. 

Nicole smiled and pulled Waverly close, snaking her hands around Waverly's waist, under her long baggy shirt. 

"I dropped them off at Wynonna's; she said she would take them for the day." Nicole gently grabbed Waverly's ass, maneuvering her fingers through Waverly's panties, which earned a small moan from her wife. 

Waverly giggled and pulled Nicole in for another kiss. 

"How did Spencer take that?" Waverly asked with a concerned tone. 

"She seemed fine. She told me that she would behave," Nicole said with a shrug. 

"But enough about the kids.." Nicole pulled Waverly into a big hug and wrapped her arms around her tightly, "Happy Anniversary, my love."

"Happy Anniversary," she said, pulling away and looking at Nicole with nothing but love in her eyes. 

She pulled away and walked over to the counter and grabbed a card. She walked back over and handed it to her. 

Waverly smiled for the hundredth time in those 20 minutes and opened it. 

 

_Dear Waverly- my love,_

_Happy 4-year wedding anniversary, baby. We have been together for 7 years now, and each and every day I fall more and more in love with you. From the first day that I laid my eyes on you, beer-soaked in Shorty's- my whole world stopped. Nothing else mattered, my only goal was to get in your pants (kidding!)._

Waverly giggled at Nicole's humor. Nicole heard it behind her back and smiled at herself, unbeknownst to her wife since she was turned to the stove.

 _Waverly, I knew you were the one. I took one look at you, and I knew that you were going to be my wife and one day the mother to our children._   _You are the best thing that's ever happened to me (don't tell the kids!). You amaze me every day with your kindness. I have never met someone who is more selfless than you, always putting the kids and me first. Always making sure Wynonna and her family are ok, making sure Jeremy and Robin are doing ok and making sure that Chrissy isn't having too many mid-week crises._ _You have done so much for the kids and me, and I know it has not been easy to take on three kids in a matter of two months. And I'm so sorry that I just sprang it on you. You took it all so well, and I can never thank you enough for that._

_You mean so, so, much to me. You are the absolute love of my life, and you are, without a doubt, my person. You came into my life and swooped me off my feet, cheesy I know. But you changed me, you've made me a better person and continue to make me a better person. I've learned so much Waverly; you taught me how to love again and what real love was like. Quite honestly, I don't know what I did to deserve you or how I somehow got you to marry me._

_I could probably write a whole book on how much you mean to me and how much I love you. But I'm running out of room on this card._

_I love you, Waverly, thank you for being everything I could've ever wanted and more. Thank you for being an amazing mother to our kids, and thank you for loving me. You're my other half, and I could never and would never want to live without you by my side. Happy Anniversary, sweetie. I love you. xo_

Waverly was in tears by the time she finished reading her card from her lovely wife. 

"Nicole," she said, wiping her tears and setting down the card. She could barely speak; she was speechless. Nicole had completely surprised her with this. 

Nicole smiled and turned around. She walked over to her wife, who had her head in her hands, trying to stop her crying. She came over and wrapped her wife up into her arms, embracing her tightly. 

"I love you, Waverly. I meant every word in that card. I thought you deserved something special, you've been making so many sacrifices, and there is no way I could ever repay you for them," Nicole placed a soft kiss to Waverly's hairline and loosened her embrace. 

Waverly pulled back a little and wiped her eyes and looked up at Nicole. Her eyes were glistening with tears, but they also had nothing but love in them. 

"Nicole, don't ever feel like you have to repay me. We're a team, and we do it together. I love you, and I'm always going to be here to support you and the kids," Waverly smiled and pulled Nicole into a sloppy and snotty kiss. 

"I love you so much. Thank you for everything, baby." Waverly hugged Nicole tightly, burying her head into her chest, breathing in her wife's vanilla scent that always calmed her down. 

Waverly snaked her hand up Nicole's sweatshirt and cupped her breasts and played with her nipples. 

"Y'know, this breakfast looks delicious, but I think there's something else I'd rather eat," Waverly said with a sultry tone and a smirk. 

"Waverly Earp, are you soliciting _the_ top shelf chef of Purgatory?" Nicole winked playfully at Waverly. 

"I believe so, yes." Waverly grinned and pulled away from Nicole. "Close your eyes."

Nicole obliged and closed her eyes, anxiously wondering what Waverly could be doing. 

Waverly took a step back from Nicole and lifted her long, baggy shirt and slid off her black panties. She rolled them up and gently brushed it against Nicole's nose, making sure she got a scent of it. 

Nicole gulped and slowly opened her right eye, but was quickly met with Waverly's hand over eyes, her forehead being poked with Waverly's wedding ring. 

"No opening your eyes," Waverly chastised. She took the panties and gently tucked them in the pocket of Nicole's hoodie. She leaned in and whispered into Nicole's ear. " _Meet me upstairs in 5 minutes,"_ she whispered in a seductive tone.

Nicole inhaled sharply, the things that her wife could do to her. She was aroused beyond belief, and all she wanted to do was fuck her wife senseless right there on the kitchen floor. 

She opened her eyes to see an empty room and footsteps going up the stairs. She snapped out of it and turned to the oven, seeing that the muffins had two more minutes to go — the longest two minutes of her life.

"C' mon, just beep already," she pleaded, wanting to go meet her wife upstairs. But two painful long minutes later, the oven beeped. She grabbed a kitchen towel, not even bothering to put on the oven mitt. She grabbed the tin of muffins and put them on the stove to cool. She made sure the oven and stove were turned off before finally running upstairs. 

She opened the bedroom door and found her wife laying in bed, one leg propped up and her head resting on the hand of her propped up the left arm. She was wrapped in just the thin, silk sheet that was barely covering her boobs and you could see a few brown curls poking out at the bottom. Their strap-on was in Waverly's hand while she was carelessly playing with the strap in her hand. Nicole's boxers were wet at this point. 

"Fuck," Nicole moaned. 

"I think I thought of how you could repay me," she said dreamily.

"Yeah? What's that?" Nicole said, shutting the door behind her and locking it. 

"Orgasms, and a lot of them," Waverly said with a grin.

"I think I can do that," Nicole said, climbing into bed on top of Waverly. She took off her sweatshirt and t-shirt, so her top was now completely exposed.

Waverly pulled Nicole into a searing kiss, gently rubbing Nicole's cheek with the pad of her thumb. 

They hadn't had time for like this in a long time. The last time they truly had a day to themselves was before Hazel. Not that they didn't love cuddles in bed or just watching a movie or a show together wasn't lovely, because it was, but it was nice to be able to have the house only to themselves for the day. 

 

Waverly and Nicole were now cuddling together in bed; both exposed under their bed sheet. Waverly was currently playing with Nicole's wedding ring while they reminisced before they were married and before kids. 

"Remember the day you proposed to me?" Waverly asked, looking over lovingly at her wife. 

"Of course, one of the best days of my life," Nicole said with a huge, dreamy smile on her face. "I was nervous that you would say no." 

Waverly chuckled and gently kissed Nicole's jawline. 

"Why? You knew how much I loved you," she asked, cuddling up closer to her wife. 

"I don't know. You know how I hate not having the answer. And I guess in my mind there was always a possibility that you would say no," Nicole said, looking up at the ceiling. 

"There was never a possibility of me saying no. Not then and not now." Waverly gently squeezed Nicole's hand for reassurance. 

 

_**5 years ago...** _

"Jeremy! They were supposed to be pink roses, pink tulips, and white lilies! Not pink lilies and red roses!" Nicole wined, quickly walking up to Jeremy who was getting out of his car. 

"What?" Jeremy said, looking down at the bouquet in front of him. 

"Oh, sorry, Nicole!" he said, apologetically.

Nicole exhaled sharply and pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. 

"It's fine; it's whatever. Just give them to me," Nicole snatched the flowers from Jeremy's hand and angrily walked over to the picnic blanket laying out next to the gazebo overlooking the Canadian mountains. She was planning on having a picnic on the rock ledge, which was also overlooking the mountains. She had shut the whole place down and made sure Nedley let everyone know that. 

She gently placed the flowers on the white table cloth. She had enlisted everyone, everyone but Waverly, to help set up with engagement. Chrissy was in charge of keeping Waverly occupied, Wynonna and Doc were in charge of hanging up lights across the gazebo, Jeremy was in charge of flowers and making sure that the canoe ride Nicole had planned was still a go, and Robin was in charge of making sure that the food from the most expensive restaurant in Purgatory was perfect. It was a warm summer night, and it couldn't have been a better time in Nicole's opinion. And it happened to be the first day that they met. 

" _She's going to say yes, Nicole. Everything is going to go just fine_ ," Nicole thought to herself. 

"Food is ready!" Robin chirped as he walked over with a silver platter with vegan risotto. "Watched them cook it myself." Robin smiled as he set it down on the picnic blanket. 

Nicole smiled and hugged Robin. "Thank's Robin." 

Robin squeezed Nicole before pulling away. "Don't worry; everything is going to be just fine. Waverly loves you," he said, giving a reassuring smile. 

Nicole gave a nervous laugh. "Thanks, Robin." 

"Yo, Haught to trot, or should I say Haught to get engaged," Wynonna said with a smirk, bumping her hip into her future sisters-in-law. "How's the twinkly lights lookin' ?"

Nicole stepped back and looked at the gazebo that was almost done being set up. Quite honestly, she was patting herself on the back. They had done a beautiful job. There were string lights set up all around the gazebo, a warmer for when it got cold, bouquet and a platter of delicious food laying on the picnic blanket. She even got out the fancy china that they never used. Nicole had planned it perfectly, she gave them a little over an hour to eat and planned on proposing during sunset. She had hired a professional photographer to capture their perfect moment. She paid him extra to hide in the bushes just before proposing so Waverly wouldn't be suspicious. 

"Wow," Nicole said, in awe of their hard work. "It's beautiful."

"Waverly's going to love it," Wynonna said, slinging her arm over Nicole's shoulders. "And don't worry. Waverly loves you, and there's no way in hell she's going to say no."

"Thanks, Wynonna," Nicole said with a playful smile. She felt her phone vibrate in her pocket and pulled it out and saw that there was a text from Waverly. 

"Oh shit, Waverly is on her way! So everyone, get the hell out! And thank you guys so much for your hard work," Nicole said, a huge smile forming on her face. 

Wynonna pulled Nicole into a very sloppy hug and somewhat uncomfortable hug, which caught Nicole off guard.

"Good luck, Nicole," she said, pulling away. "And don't get your panties all in a twist," she said with a playful wink. 

Nicole rolled her eyes, and playfully pushed her away. 

Doc came over and kissed her on the head. "You're going to do great. She's going to say yes, without a doubt in my mind." 

Jeremy and Robin both pulled her into a big hug.

"Good luck, Nicole! And let us know how it goes!" Robin said excitedly. 

"Don't get nervous, Nicole. I mean, there's always a possibility she could say no, but-" 

Jeremy was cut off by a hand over his mouth and a terrified Nicole standing in front of her. 

You could hear the groans and disapproval by Wynonna and Doc waiting by the car. 

"Jeremy!" Robin chastised. "That's not what she wants to hear!" 

Robin turned to Nicole and sympathized. "She loves you, Nicole. A lot, it's undeniable the thing between you too. You have nothing to worry about." 

They both gave one last hug, and everyone said their goodbye's and good lucks before driving away, leaving Nicole alone, waiting for the love of her life. 

"One last thing," Nicole said to herself. She walked over to the corner of the gazebo and grabbed a bucket of pink rose petals. She made a path from the first parking, stopping just before the picnic blanket and the gazebo. 

"Ok, perfect," Nicole mumbled. She pulled out her phone to check her outfit and makeup one last time. 

She was wearing skinny black jeans, black ankle boots, and a nice white polo with small black flower designs. She had a professional makeup artist to do a natural look. She was even wearing her grandmother's watch, which she only wore on special events. 

She was extremely nervous, the more and more she waited for Waverly, the harder her heart pound harder. She wanted everything to be perfect, and she was afraid that it wasn't. 

After what seemed like an hour, but only five minutes, Chrissy's car pulled up in the distance. Nicole's heart was now pounding; she could hear it in her ears. It was so loud she could barely hear anything. 

Waverly stepped out of the car and said her goodbyes to Chrissy. When she turned around, Nicole's breath stopped. Waverly was dressed in a beautiful white, summer dress, a brown belt around the middle, and sandals. Nicole thought she was the most beautiful women in the world. She was breathtaking, quite literally. Nicole could feel her heart skip a beat and her stomach doing flips. 

"Oh my gosh," Waverly said, bringing her hands over her mouth while walking up to Nicole. "Baby, what is this?!" 

Nicole smiled and held out her hand, pulling Waverly into her embrace and passionately kissing her. 

"Whoa," Waverly said, pulling back, but still staying in each other's embrace. "Love, please tell me what's going on?"

"I just thought I should surprise you; this is the day we first met after all." Nicole smiled lovingly and grabbed Waverly's hand, leading her toward the picnic blanket.

"The gazebo! Oh, it's beautiful!" Waverly said beaming. She let go of Nicole's hand and entered the gazebo, admiring the lights and the view. 

Nicole chuckled, she should've known that Waverly would've immediately be distracted by the rose petal and light covered wooden gazebo. 

"We'll get to that later," Nicole said from behind Waverly, gently squeezing her shoulders. "C' mon." She placed a gentle kiss to Waverly's cheek. "I got your favorite risotto from that place you love so much." 

"Être beurré? I love that place!" Waverly said excitedly, practically squealed. She leaned up and kissed Nicole gently on the lips. "God, what did I do to deserve you." 

Nicole giggled and led her to the picnic blanket. She set out the risotto on the fancy china and poured some champagne. They happily ate their dinner and enjoyed each other's company. They talked about what seemed like everything. Anything from their day, to work, to what they want their future to be like, to high school- you name it, they probably talked about it. 

In this time, Nicole's doubts only faded. The more she laughed with her and talked with her and kissed her, the more she was reassured that Waverly was going to say yes. 

They ended up finish dinner a little early, so they decided to look at the view and talk. Waverly situated herself between Nicole's legs and lightly tossed a blanket over them. They talked and talked until she checked her watch and saw that the sun was going to set in 15 minutes. She had planned on dancing with Waverly in the gazebo before she proposed. It was getting closer and closer until the proposal- she was terrified. 

"Baby, come dance with me?" Nicole asked, gesturing toward the gazebo. 

Waverly scrunched up her nose; she knew something was going on, she just couldn't quite place her finger on it. 

"Ok," she said, grabbing Nicole's hand to help her up. 

Nicole led them to the gazebo, and turned on a speaker and played 'Thinking Out Loud' by Ed Sheeran. She had taken slow dancing lessons, making sure that everything was perfect. Every time they tried to slow dance, Nicole always ended up stepping on Waverly's feet or her own. 

"I promise I won't step on your feet," Nicole said with a wink. 

Waverly laughed. "I'd appreciate that." 

Nicole put her hand on Waverly's waist while the other was intertwined with her other hand and Waverly placed her's on Nicole's shoulder. They started dancing, both forgetting everything but each other at the moment. Waverly was quite surprised at how much better Nicole was so much better at slow dancing. It was like a whole new Nicole. Their feet moving in perfect synchronization, both eye's fixated on each other. It was perfect. 

They danced to one more song, "I Was Made For Loving You" by Tori Kelly and Ed Sheeran," which happened to be one of their favorite songs. Nicole couldn't stand it anymore, she just wanted to propose right there, but everything was planned to a T, so she had to wait. But, she was thankful that she planned the photographer perfectly; she could see him out of the corner of her eye, taking pictures of them. 

After they finished slow dancing, Nicole walked over to the speaker and shut it off and turned back to her future wife. 

"Wow, I'm impressed. Just a few months ago you would've been stepping on my feet, your own, and somehow would've ended up stepping on someone else's feet," Waverly said, referring to the wedding Waverly went to for one of her high school friends. An event which just fueled Nicole's urge to propose to the brunette. 

Nicole blushed and looked down. She took Waverly's hands in her own and pulled her close, looking her lovingly in the eyes. 

She shook her head in disbelief; sometimes, it surprised her at how much she loved Waverly.

"What?" Waverly asked, wrinkling her eyebrows and smiling. 

"It's just. I never knew I could love this hard," Nicole quietly said, a tear threatening to fall from her eye. 

"Aw, baby. I love you, too," Waverly said, leaning in and giving Nicole a soft peck on the lips.

Nicole took a big breath in and composed herself before talking.

"You could have anyone, Waverly. You're so much smarter than I am, and there is no way that I deserve you. But, Waverly," Nicole said, letting out a light, nervous chuckle. "I am so in love with you." 

"You're my best friend, and you came into my life when I had nothing. I just moved here and had no friends, until I met you. You took my world and flipped it completely upside down. You're the most stubborn person I've ever met, and you're not afraid to speak your mind. I hope our future kids get your tenacious, yet selfless personality. And I know it hasn't been easy," Nicole was referring to Waverly figuring out her sexuality and fighting off revenants while they were at the beginning stages of their relationship. There were multiple times where they both thought they were going to lose each other and each.

"But there's no one else that I'd rather be with, you're my forever, Waverly. No matter how rough things get, I want to do it all with you, work it with you, have kids you, love with you. You deserve the world and so much more. You have the most outgoing and bubbly personality, constantly smiling and looking for the good in every situation. You make life so exciting, and you give me a reason to wake up every morning." Nicole was referring to before she moved to Purgatory and met Waverly.

She was living in Vancouver at the time. She had just ended things with Shae, and while it wasn't anything special, nothing compared to her and Waverly, it brought her some happiness. After she graduated from the Police Academy, she became depressed; she wasn't speaking to her parents or her brother. All her friends were living in different parts of the world. She stayed in Vancouver, and had no friends and it just seemed impossible to make friends at that age. She was lonely and had no reason for anything to do anything in life. Not until she moved to Purgatory and met the love of her life.

"You have always been the one, Waverly. I knew it from the first moment I saw you, covered in beer. There's no one else for me." Nicole took a big breath in and pulled out a black, velvet box from her pocket. 

"With that being said," she said, kneeling on one knee. 

"What are you doing?" Waverly asked. It took a few moments for the brunette to process what was happening, but when she did, she burst into tears. 

"What are you- Oh my god, Nicole," she choked out. The tears were easily rolling down her cheeks at that point. "You-- I-- what--I just-- ohmygod," she fumbled over her words while looking at the ring and back at Nicole.

"You are my whole, entire heart. I want nothing more than to spend my life with you by my side. I want to wake up every morning and find you peacefully asleep beside me. When I go to sleep at night, all I want is to hold you, make you feel safe and protected against the world. I'm going to do everything in my power to give you everything you deserve. I love you, my darling. No matter what the future holds for us, I promise to love you until the end of time and beyond. So, Waverly Earp, will you marry me?" 

Waverly was speechless. She never had, in a million years, thought she would be here, be that happy, and marry the love of her life. She had just assumed she would marry Champ and have his babies and be the housewife everyone was expecting her to be. She thought her life was already planned out, and she thought she was going to die unhappy and unfulfilled by life. If you told her five years ago she'd be standing here, the hot and red-headed officer down on one knee and professing her love for her; she would've thought you were in insane. 

She was never put first, or treated like the 'true princess,' nicknamed by Nicole, she was. When she first started dating Nicole, she was sure that Nicole would run for the hills after learning their family history and their family curse. I mean, who would stay for that? Her guess was not many. She didn't know what she could've possibly done to deserve Nicole, the most thoughtful and caring person she had ever met. She knew what her answer was, and she didn't even have to think twice. 

"Yes," Waverly said with a shaky breath, covering her nose and mouth with both hands. She shook her head and gave Nicole her hand, who was currently standing now. 

Nicole gently took Waverly's left hand in her own and slipped on the beautiful, silver wedding band on Waverly's shaky fingers. 

Waverly grabbed her and pulled her into the biggest hug, getting tears all over her sweater. She pulled away and looked at Nicole.

"Yes, my love," she kissed Nicole. "Yes." Kiss. "A million times, yes." Kiss. 

Waverly never expected to love this hard, and it was so much better than the fantasies in her head. 

"It's beautiful, baby," Waverly whispered, admiring the beautiful ring that was staring back at her. She was in love with it and loved even more that it showed she was engaged to her best friend. 

"I love you," Wavery said cupping Nicole's face and staring lovingly into her fiancée's eyes.

"Aw congratulations!" their engagement photographer said from the bush, still snapping pictures, which startling Waverly who jumped.

"Oh, my gosh!" Waverly exclaimed, clutching her chest. 

Nicole laughed. "Sorry love. I paid him extra to hide in the bushes so you wouldn't suspect a thing."  

"I can't believe you did all of this," Waverly said, wrapping her arms around her fiancée's neck. 

"I'd do anything for you. I love you so much, Waverly," Nicole said, wiping a tear before it fell. 

"Oh my love," Waverly said quietly. She leaned in and gave a gentle kiss to Nicole's lips. "I love you, too. Thank you for making this the easiest decision of my life." 

"Wynonna and everyone is back at Shorty's waiting for us," Nicole said, smiling. "We should probably get going." 

"They were a part of this, too?" Waverly asked. 

"Yeah, I had them help and set everything up." 

Waverly smiled and kissed Nicole again, but this time deeper and more passionate. Their photographer was still there snapping pictures. 

"Come on, love," Nicole said, pulling away, but keeping her hand intertwined with Waverlys. 

She led them towards her car, but not before thanking their photographer. And like a gentlewoman would, she held the door open for Waverly. They kept holding hands the whole car ride, it was quiet, but Waverly didn't mind. She was too busy admiring her beautiful, red-headed, police offer fiancée.

When they walked into Shorty's, they were met with Waverly's close friends and family, so it was a small gathering- but it meant the world to Waverly nonetheless. The room went quiet when they opened the bar doors.

"Everyone, I'd like you to meet my fiancée," Nicole said proudly. 

The room erupted into cheers and 'congratulations.' Everyone gave them hugs and kisses. Waverly's Aunt Gus broke out the liquor and but on the radio. It was a small gathering, but the love and laughter that filled the room would make you think that all of Purgatory was in there. 

 

**Present day...**

"The easiest 'yes' of my life," Waverly said with a dreamy tone. 

"I love you, Waverly. I'm so glad that you said yes," Nicole said, craning her head and kissing Waverly on the head. "We should probably eat some actual food," she said with a chuckle. 

Waverly shook her head no. "I'm ok with eating you."

Nicole laughed and gently patted Waverly's arm, encouraging her to get up. "As much as I would love that, I'm pretty hungry. And we have all day for that," she said with a smirk. She sat up and kept the sheets wrapped around her. Waverly, on the other hand, continued to lay down, wrapped in blankets. 

Waverly rolled her eyes playfully. "Fine, but you owe me more orgasms for making me get up instead of cuddling and having sex with you all day."

"Will do, my love," Nicole said, leaning down and pecking her wife on the lips. She got up and walked over to their dresser, completely naked. Waverly propped herself up on her arm and watched, admiring the view. 

"Damn, my wife has a nice ass," Waverly said with a smirk. 

Nicole laughed and threw on some boxers and a hoodie. 

"Glad, I can entertain." She turned back around and sat next to Waverly and ran her hands through her brown hair. "I'll warm up breakfast, well I guess it's brunch now. You take a shower; I'll take care of everything downstairs."

Waverly shook her head and smiled. "Really, what did I do to deserve you." 

Nicole smiled and leaned down and gently kissed Waverly on the lips. "I love you." She stood up and walked out the door. 

Waverly watched as her wife walked out the door and down the stairs. She smiled to herself; she was so incredibly happy her heart could burst. She loved Nicole with everything she had and more. 

 

~~

 

It was a few hours later, and they were out of the house. It was an almost 6 PM, and they were headed out to the place where they first got engaged, they planned a little picnic and Nicole shut the site down again so that they could have to themselves. But instead of risotto they just got some salads, they planned to have dinner and watch the sunset. Wynonna had offered to take the kids for the night, which Nicole and Waverly didn't hesitate to accept. 

"I'm so excited!" Waverly beamed from the passenger's seat. 

Nicole smiled and gently squeezed her wife's thigh. "Me, too, baby."

"I'm so glad that you decided to drop the kids off with, Wynonna. This is the best day I've had in a long time," Waverly said dreamily. 

"I'd do anything for you, Waves. I knew you needed well deserved day off."

Waverly blushed and leaned in and kissed Nicole's cheek and Nicole reached up with her right hand and gently cupped Waverly's face, it was a bit awkward considering their positioning. 

Nicole pulled into the dirt parking lot. 

"Wait," Nicole said, quickly unbuckling her seatbelt and getting out of the car.

She walked over to the passenger's side door and opened the door for Waverly. 

"After you, my love," Nicole said, holding out her hand, guided towards the gazebo. 

Waverly giggled. "Wow, how chivalrous of you." 

Nicole shut the car door behind them and grabbed the picnic basket and the picnic blanket and regular blanket, just in case it got cold as the night went on. 

Waverly had already got a head start towards their spot. Nicole was falling behind. 

"Wait for me!" she called from the car, bottle of champagne, picnic basket, and blankets in hand. "Let me set everything up!" She quickly jogged as best she could, considering she had an extra 15 pounds of things in her hands. 

Waverly laughed. "Baby, that's so sweet of you. But I'm not good for nothing; let me help." 

Nicole shook her head. "No, after these past few weeks, it's  _my_ turn to do everything." She caught up and looked lovingly into her wife's eyes. "Please, let me spoil you?" she asked, pleading with her. 

Waverly rolled her eyes and feigned annoyance. "Fine." She smiled and leaned in and pecked her wife on the lips. She turned back around and started walking again.

"This is gonna owe you more orgasms!" Waverly called over her shoulder. 

Nicole smirked and looked up and thanked whatever God was up there. 

She quickly set everything up but made sure it was cute and neat like Waverly wanted. She was hungry and wanted to waste no time with her wife. 

Waverly sat down after a quick few minutes and opened the basket and pulled out their food and champagne glasses. She both poured them a hefty amount. 

"Thank you," Nicole said, happily accepting the glass from Waverly. Both clinked their glasses in celebration, and they both leaned in, kissing each other passionately. 

"I love you," Waverly said quietly, keeping their foreheads together. 

"I love you more," Nicole said. She knew it was cheesy and it caused Waverly to giggle. 

"Not possible," Waverly said.

"I have a surprise for you," Nicole said, setting down her champagne glass and digging into her pocket.

Waverly scrunched her nose and looked at Nicole with interest. 

"What?" 

Nicole pulled out a folded, crumpled piece of paper and handed it to Waverly. 

"What's this?" Waverly asked, opening the crinkled paper. 

"Just read it."

Waverly opened it and started reading. Nicole had surprised her with a cabin on Moraine Lake in Alberta. It was a family outing; everyone was coming, even Chrissy and her boyfriend.

"Oh my gosh, Nicole!" Waverly squealed, a huge smile forming on her face.

Nicole smiled at her wife's excitement. "We leave on Sunday; I rented a big cabin. We're going to be sharing with Wynonna, and Doc. Chrissy and her boyfriend are going to be with Jeremy and Robin. I thought we all deserved a little time away from work. I just hope the kids like it. Well, I hope Spencer likes it." Nicole placed her hand on the back of her neck in anticipation.

"Nicole, it's perfect. I cannot believe you did this. You are the best wife in the world. You constantly surprise me," Waverly smiled and pulled Nicole into a kiss. "And you said I'm the selfless one," she mumbled. 

Nicole leaned in and kissed her hard; she started coming closer, forcing Nicole onto her back. 

Waverly giggled as Nicole was on top now, they were both making out like love-struck teenagers. 

Waverly giggled and pulled away. 

"Nicole, I love you so much. But do you remember the last time we had sex outside?" Waverly asked with a quirked eyebrow. 

Nicole gave a sheepish smile and sat up. "Yeah," she mumbled. 

"We  _both_ got crabs, and it sucked," Waverly said, propping herself up on her elbows. "I'd rather give you mind-blowing, screaming orgasms in our bed."

Nicole huffed. "Ok." She climbed off of her wife and handed Waverly her salad. 

They both wanted to talk about anything but the kids, but ended up anyway talking about them. They talked about their future, how long they would stay, what Spencer was going to be like. They talked about almost everything and every possibility they could. 

Waverly knew that Nicole was starting to fall more and more in love with them. She saw them as a full part of their family since day one. Waverly loved them too, but the thought of them being there forever home and family scared her. She didn't want to take them in and have everything go wrong. 

But thankfully, Nicole knew Waverly was getting anxious with all this talk about the kids. So she changed the subject, she told her to the sun was going to set soon. So Waverly situated herself between Waverly's legs, just like she did when they got engaged. Nicole wrapped her arms around Waverly, kissing her from her neck to her cheek, to her lips. And every touch, every kiss, caused Waverly's stomach to do a flip and caused her heart rate to spike. It was amazing to her how, after all these years, their love was still so strong and every touch felt sent a spark all through Waverly's body. 

They watched the sunset in silence, enjoying each other's company, and sharing a few kisses here and there. It was a beautiful and warm night, perfect for them. The sun was setting perfectly over the mountains; the whole sky was a pink and orange color, it was beautiful. 

They watched the sunset until it was dark out and shared a little conversation here and there. They wanted to stay longer, but it was getting too cold, so they decided to head back home. They didn't mind, though, because they were going home to have sex, a lot of sex.

Nicole pushed her foot harder on the gas pedal; she couldn't wait to get home and fuck her wife hard. They hadn't had sex like this in a long time.

She sloppily pulled into the driveway, not even bothering to park it in the garage. Both Waverly and Nicole quickly walked to the door and unlocked it as quick she could. And by the time they entered the house, Waverly pulled Nicole into a searing kiss and pushed her against the door frame, their lips moving in a sloppy synchronization. Nicole threw the keys on the counter and ripped Waverly's shirt off, she pulled away and grabbed her button up shirt and ripped it open, buttons flying everywhere and threw it to the ground. She cupped Waverly's ass and picked her up, Waverly wrapped her legs around Nicole's waist. She walked them both upstairs and into the bedroom, not breaking their kiss. 

They were ecstatic that they didn't have to be quiet and knew that they could scream as loud as they wanted. And Nicole had full intentions on making her scream; all she wanted was to fuck her hard into the mattress. Waverly had been horny almost all day, so she had been waiting for this all day. 

Nicole kicked the door open with her foot and walked it, wrapped her foot around the door again and slamming it shut. She gently laid her wife on the mattress and gazed into her beautiful brown eyes. She smiled at her with nothing but pure love in her eyes. 

Nicole knew that she made the right choice and asked Waverly to marry her. She thanked whatever God was up there for bringing them together and having her heart stolen by a feisty brunette who's family history was far from normal. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, I highly recommend the song "I Was Made For Loving You" by Tori Kelly and Ed Sheeran. Tori Kelly is my all time favorite singer and idol. She's literally my queeeeennn. It's such a good song and definitely in my top 3 favorite songs!!!


	26. Anniversary: Part Two ....Kinda?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nicole and Waverly make a life changing decision. And Waverly gets from advice from her big sister. 
> 
> And Chrissy makes an appearance in the next chapter. I feel bad I haven't been including her, so here she is!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *sips tea* 
> 
> Thank you guys for the lovely comments. I'm so happy that you guys enjoy my writing. And thank you for the kudos, I never thought I'd get to 100, then we pass that and get 200, and here we are again, we have 300! Amazing! And please know, that I do read all of your comments, it's just sometimes life gets in the way and I can't respond to all of them, but I do read them, so keep 'em coming! xx
> 
> And I didn't proofread this one cause I didn't really feel like it lol. So ignore the spelling mistakes.

It had been a few days after their anniversary and they were going to leave for the cabin at Moraine Lake in two days. Something had been itching at Waverly ever since their anniversary day. She couldn't let it stew any longer and knew that she had to say something before it was too late, but at the same time she wasn't sure if it was even a good idea. It was back and forth in her mind and she just couldn't make a decision. 

"What do you think I should do?" Waverly asked her sister. She was spending the day at Wynonna's helping her redecorate Alice's room. Almost the whole time they were talking about Waverly's dilemma. They were now just sitting on the couch drinking beer while Waverly was asking for advice. 

Wynonna shrugged. "What's the worst that could happen? Nicole loves you, I don't think it will be a problem."

Waverly sighed. "I know she loves me. But it doesn't feel right. You know how proud I am of our family name."

"You're still keeping it, it's just going to be a little different. I really don't think it's that big of a deal." Wynonna took a big sip of her drink and threw her head back on the couch. 

"It is a big deal! It's new and so different. We haven't even had a conversation yet. What if she says no?"

Wynonna rolled her eyes. "That's not going to happen. Nicole loves you." She audibly gagged at her last sentence and continued. "She loves you and won't have any problem combining your last names."

"We decided before we got married that we wanted to keep our last names at 'Haught' and 'Earp'. We both were proud of them and didn't want them to change. What if she wants to keep them and what if she does shoot me down?"

Wynonna shook her head. "That's not going to happen, Waverly. I don't know how many times I can tell you. I'm sure she'd be happy to have her last name be Haught-Earp or Earp-Haught or whatever." 

Waverly slouched next to Wynonna and took a long sip of her beer. She wasn't sure why it was bothering her so much. Wynonna was right, Nicole wouldn't have a problem with combining their last names. In fact, she'd probably be ecstatic. She kinda felt that by telling her that she wanted to make their family's name more official, she would get the idea of making the kids more official. Meaning adopting them and also making them an official part of the family. But that scared Waverly, it didn't feel 100 percent right to her. She felt awful for thinking that and she knew that she loved the kids, but she wasn't ready for such a big commitment. 

"I'm scared she's going to think me wanting to change our last name is going to think that I'm ready to make our family more official," Waverly said quietly.

Wynonna opened one eye and sat up. "What do you mean 'more official' ?"

"Like," Waverly slumped her shoulders and sighed. "Adopt them."

Wynonna's eyes got big. "Whoa, did ginger spice tell you she wants to adopt them?"

Waverly rolled her eyes. "I really wish you would stop calling her that, she doesn't like it." 

Wynonna held her hands up in surrender. "Sorry. But did she? She didn't, she couldn't have." 

Waverly shook her head. "No, she hasn't said anything, but I can tell she wants to. She's falling in love with them." She chuckled. "She's  _in_ love with them. But she doesn't want to rush me or push me out." Waverly sighed and shook her head. "She's so sweet and considerate. I know she wants to say something, but she doesn't want to hurt me." 

Wynonna gagged and looked at her sister. "You gays are too sappy," she said, which earned a playful slap from Waverly. 

"I think you should just talk to her, just about the last time thing. One thing at a time, don't push things too far," Wynonna slouched back down and finished the last few sips of her beer. "Lord knows how painful that could be," she mumbled. 

She was referring to the time she and Doc were too, _rough,_  for a lack of better words. Long story short they both ended up in the hospital and we'll just leave it there. 

Waverly rolled her eyes and set her beer down on the coffee table. 

"You're right. I should talk to her," she grabbed her keys next to her drink and stood up. "Thanks, Wynonna."

"Wait, right now? We didn't even do anything for you 'sisterly' time?!" Wynonna exclaimed, sitting up and craning her head to watch her sister walk towards the door. 

"We decorated Alice's room!" she said with a chuckle. 

"Yeah and I listened to your problems. Now it's time to listen to mine!" 

"I know, I'm sorry. I'll probably be back tonight to tell you how it all goes. And I promise the kids I'd be home before their nap to tuck them in. So it's perfect timing, as our luck would have it." Waverly walked over and kissed her sister on the head before walking out the door. 

"Love you, Wynonna! I'll be back tonight!" she called over her shoulder before heading for her red jeep. 

 

~~

 

Waverly and Nicole had finished putting the kids down for their nap. Nicole and Waverly were in their office getting some bills paid. They had rearranged the office to fit Waverly's stuff in there, so now their desks were right across from each other, just like Nicole's office at the station. 

Nicole was focused and barely made any conversation with Waverly, just wanting to get them over and done with. Waverly, on the other hand, couldn't focus, the only thing on her mind was trying to find the right words to talk to her wife about their last name. She wanted to word it so that Nicole understood she just wanted to change their last names and that's it. 

"Babe, you're staring," Nicole said, not even taking her eyes off her laptop. 

"What? Oh, sorry," Waverly said, blinking her eyes and looking back down at her checkbook. 

"Something on your mind?" Nicole asked, glancing over at her wife. 

Waverly shook her head and shredded the check made out to the electric company, which she misspelled and wrote the amount off by a dollar. 

"I've known you for 7 years. Something's up," Nicole said, shutting her laptop halfway. 

Waverly out down the pen and sighed. she gently rubbed the tiredness and frustration out of her eyes. 

"What's up, sweetie?" Nicole asked, reaching her hand out and placing it gently on top of Waverly's in support. 

Waverly smiled at her gesture. Her wife knew her too well and even though sometimes it didn't feel like it, she knew it was all for the better, for both of them. 

"Um, well," Waverly started, avoiding eye contact but still holding Nicole's hand. 

"I've just been thinking, y'know ever since all of this," she waved her hand in the air for more emphasis. 

Nicole nodded and let Waverly continue. 

"I just love you so much and," Waverly paused briefly and looked up at Nicole's face. Her expression was anxious and excited like she was ready for some big, great news.

"And I've been wanting to change our last name." The nine words Waverly _and_ Nicole had been dreading. You could easily see Nicole's shoulders drop and her face fall slightly. 

"Oh," Nicole said, taking her hand away and completely closing her laptop. "That's great!" she said, trying her best to be enthusiastic despite her obvious disappointment.  

 Her wife's forced enthusiasm to make her feel good didn't go unnoticed and Waverly feel a little better. 

"I don't know what I was thinking when we got married, wanting to keep my last name and only my last name. It's selfish, I want to show the world that I'm married to Nicole Haught, the best and sexist wife in all of Purgatory. In all of the world, even!" she said, looking down in embarrassment. 

"I love you. And it doesn't matter what our last names are. I'm married to you, you're my wife and the mother to our children. You're one of the best things that has ever come into my life," Nicole said, squeezing Waverly's hand. 

"I love you, too. And I don't want anything thinking that you're available, which you're not," Waverly said with a stern finger wave. 

Nicole chuckled. "I don't think anyone is going to think that with  _this_ on my finger," she said. She held up the 2.5-carat diamond ring Waverly had gotten her. She spent almost all the money in her savings on it, but her Aunt Gus insisted on paying for half. She said that she didn't want Waverly spending everything in her savings account, especially since they had a wedding, a house, and a future family to pay for. 

It was an amazing ring and Nicole loved showing it off. 

Waverly giggled. "It  _is_ an amazing ring I must say," she flipped her hair over her shoulder to brag. 

"Wow, how humble is my wife?" Nicole asked with a laugh. She got up and held out her hand. 

"Come to the couch with me, I want to talk about this without all of this," she said, gesturing to the papers and laptops and desk decorations between them. 

Waverly blushed and gently laid her hands in her wife's and let herself be led to the couch, which was actually quite messy and covered in toys from the kids. 

Nicole sat down and pat the spot next to her. Waverly followed and sat next to her, both faced each other. 

"So, what about changing our last names?" 

Waverly looked down in embarrassment. "I want to combine our last names, to 'Haught-Earp' or 'Earp-Haught,' I don't really know. But it just doesn't feel right to me, doing everything together and yet our last names are different. I was too selfish and proud of my last name, I wasn't even thinking about you." She reached her hand out and brushed it against Nicole's. 

"Baby, you don't have to apologize. You have a lot to be proud of," Nicole said, smiling. "You broke a curse with your sister, kick demon ass,  _and_ married the hottest Sheriff in all of Purgatory. I say you've done pretty well," she said with a smirk. 

Waverly laughed, "Who's the humble one now?"

"Still me." Nicole winked. "Don't be sorry, we got married right after everything died down and everyone was looking at you and Wynonna as heroes."

Waverly nudged Nicole's leg with her own. "You were a hero, too. I don't know what I would've done without you by my side. Your constant support  _and_ you saved my ass more times than I can count."

Nicole blushed. "Thank you, baby. The point is, you don't have to be sorry at all. You were proud, I was proud of you. I still am, I look up to you every day. I understand that you wanted to keep it. And I'm ecstatic that you want to combine our last names. Now people won't be hitting on you as often," she said with a wink. 

Waverly giggled and leaned in and pulled Nicole into a kiss.

"I'm so glad to hear that. I was really nervous you were going to say no," Waverly said as she pulled away.

"Why? I love the idea," Nicole said, pulling Waverly onto her lap.

"I don't know, I thought that maybe it was too late now and you just wanted to keep it the way it is. I mean it has been four years." Waverly looked down and started twiddling with her ring.

"It's never too late. I love hearing 'Nicole Haught-Earp' or 'Nicole Earp-Haught.' It has a nice ring to it," she said, gently pulling Waverly's face to make eye contact. Waverly happily staring down at her wife's adorable dimples. 

"What do you want it to change to? My last name first or yours?"

Nicole shook her head and smiled. "Whatever you want, baby. I don't care."

Waverly looked up in thought. "I like Haught-Earp."

"Haught-Earp it is then. We can go to the town hall tomorrow," Nicole said, pulling Waverly into another kiss.

"We can't silly," Waverly said giggling against Nicole's soft lips. "It's closed on Sundays."

Waverly could feel her lips form into a smile against her own. "I'm the sheriff, I can call Diane and ask her if she wouldn't mind opening it for 20 minutes so we can sign some marriage license papers." 

"Well, how do you know she won't say no? As sexy as it is you being a cop won't get you everywhere with people. And you can't threaten to arrest her if she says no," Waverly said, gently moving a red strand of hair behind Nicole's ear. 

"Darn," Nicole said, feigning disappointment. "Well guess we have to wait until Monday."

"You're a pain in the ass," Waverly said laughing, gently cupping Nicole's cheek and kissing her again. She liked the fact that she had to lean down to kiss Nicole, something that didn't happen often. 

"I'll call her tonight, she likes me and you, she'll say yes," Nicole said confidently. 

Waverly opened her mouth to speak but before she could even get a word out she heard Hazel's baby monitor go off, followed by Ferryn's. One of the problems with the babies sharing a room is sometimes one would get less sleep from the other's crying. 

"C' mon, let's go get our babies," Waverly said, gently squeezing Nicole's hand before getting up and heading for the stairs. 

Nicole's heart fluttered at the way that Waverly said 'our babies.' Waverly was definitely falling in love with them, slowly but surely. 

"C'mere sweet girl," Waverly cooed, picking up Ferryn who was standing at the side of her crib. 

"Did she wake you up?" Nicole said in her high pitched baby voice, picking up Hazel. 

Nicole looked over at Waverly, seeing how genuinely happy and easily she connected with Ferryn. She knew that Waverly loved them, but she wasn't completely  _in love_ with them, not yet. Nicole desperately wanted to adopt them, but she new Waverly didn't want to. But she had a feeling that Waverly was going to get there. 

They both tag teamed a diaper change, which was just in time for Levi to come running in, screaming at the top of his lungs and dragging his sister along with him. 

"Can we watch a movie tonight?!" Levi asked, gripping his sister's hand in excitement. 

"Sure, after dinner we can watch one. What do you guys want to watch?" Nicole said happily.

"Wreck-it-Ralph! Spencer and I watched it for the first time in the trailer!" he said. 

"Oh yeah?" Waverly said, looking up at the two while simultaneously zipping up Ferryn's onesie. 

"Well, I'm sure we can squeeze that in before bedtime," she said, standing up with Ferryn in her arms. 

Levi squealed happily while running down the hall and downstairs, leaving his sister alone in the nursery. 

"Spencer," Nicole said, stopping her before she stalked out into her room. "You know that we're going to Moraine Lake this weekend and we're going to take Levi to get some summer clothes and bathing suit. We noticed that you only have like five pairs of clothes. We wanted to take you shopping for some new ones. Especially for this vacation, it's all totally on us. We were thinking we could go tomorrow morning?"

Spencer rolled her eyes. "You think I don't know how to do laundry? I'm perfectly capable and I'm sure that a lake house has a washer and dryer."

"We know that and we know you can handle laundry. But it is going to be a hot week up there and we just wanted to get you some summer clothes and a few bathing suits. The water is probably going to be cold but we're going to be going to some water parks, too. We just want to make you more comfortable," Waverly said sincerely. 

"I'm fine, I don't need your charity," Spencer said, her tone getting angrier with every word. 

"No, we were just-" 

Spencer had already stormed out of the room and slammed her bedroom door shut before Waverly could finish. 

Wavery looked at Nicole in panic, she didn't hadn't really handled an angsty teenager since Wynonna. 

"I'll go talk to her," Nicole said, handing Hazel over to Waverly. "I'll meet you downstairs in a few," she said, giving Waverly a kiss on the head

Nicole took a big breath in and walked over to Spencer's room, knocking on the door. 

"Spencer, please open the door. I'd like to talk for a few minutes," she said warmly. 

No answer. She knocked again. 

"Spencer?" she said, gently turning the doorknob, but thankly, it was empty. 

She found Spencer quietly playing Nicole's old guitar, something she hadn't touched in years. 

Spencer sat up like she was caught. 

"I'm sorry, I found it and couldn't resist," she said, pushing the guitar away from her on the bed. 

Nicole shook her head and smiled. "That's ok, I don't play anymore. How long have you played?" 

"Since I was seven, my dad taught me," she said, avoiding eye contact.

"You have your own?"

"I did, a kid in my old foster home smashed it," Spencer said with a sigh. "We got in a fight over this party he wanted me to go to. I told him no and he smashed it."

"I'm so sorry," Nicole said, reaching out and placing her hand gently over Spencer's. She expects her to pull away, but she didn't. "You can keep mine if you want. I don't play anymore and don't really have the time for it."

Spencer formed a faint smile. "Thanks." She sighed. "Sorry about the clothes thing. I guess I could go, I need some new ones anyway," she mumbled. 

Nicole nodded and smiled. "We'll go tomorrow morning." She stood up. "Dinner's going to be ready soon."

Spencer nodded as she watched Nicole walk out the door and gently close it behind her. Maybe this new family really wasn't so bad. 

 

Dinner was pretty decent considering they were all still getting adjusted. They shared a little conversation about the trip and what they were doing and what to expect. Spencer seemed opened to the idea of getting new clothes and Levi was beyond ecstatic to spend a whole week with Alice. Spencer didn't seem to opposed to it, but she also didn't seem excited, so Nicole and Waverly didn't really know how to interpret that. 

"Do you think Spencer is going to have fun?" Waverly asked. 

They were both in bed, lights off and Nicole was trying to fall asleep. Waverly was staring up at a dark ceiling fan while Nicole was on her side with her back turned and was just about to fall asleep until she heard Waverly. 

"Waverly, go to sleep, we can talk about this tomorrow," Nicole mumbled, half asleep. 

Waverly sighed and continued to stare, trying to fall asleep but her mind couldn't stop wandering. Nicole knew that Waverly was having a hard time falling asleep, so she turned to her other side and reached over and gently intertwined their hands. It seemed to calm Waverly down just a little. But she could tell it was going to be a sleepless night. 

 

_**The next day...** _

Waverly, Nicole, and the kids took a trip into Calgary, just about a 20 minute right from Purgatory. They were at their first stop, which was Target, trying to see what they had for summer clothes. They found some clothes for Levi but all the bikini's Spencer had picked out weren't sitting right with Nicole. 

"No," Nicole said sternly, shaking her head. "It doesn't even cover your butt!" 

Spencer rolled her eyes and huffed. "That's the  _point._ It's supposed to be a little bit cheeky! And it's not like I'm trying to impress someone. It's for me," she said looking down. 

"Well if you're not trying to impress someone then find a different bathing suit, preferably a one-piece that shows minimal skin," she said, breaking eye contact, letting Spencer know that this conversation was done. 

"Ugh! You suck!" Spencer said, slamming the fitting room door shut behind her. They were all thankful that there were minimal people in there since they were causing quite the commotion. 

Nicole had Hazel in her carrier, who was peacefully sucking on a pacifier being quite the calm baby. Ferryn was sleeping in her handled carrier which was in the shopping cart and Levi was playing with his small toy trucks. 

"Honey," Waverly said, placing her hand on Nicole's thigh. "It really wasn't that bad," she said with a slight chuckle. It really wasn't that bad, it was just a natural black, bikini. 

"Yes it was," she said firmly. "Did you see how much skin was showing?" 

"Baby, you do know that I'm bringing a bikini like that, right? And I think it might be just a  _smidge_ worst that than," she said, holding her thumb and finger close together in an increment. 

Nicole looked over at Nicole with an aggravated look. "But you're an adult  _and_ married, to me!" 

Waverly tried to stifle her laughter. "And I'm sure that if anyone were to hit on me you'd handle it, _appropriately._ And I know you'd do the same with her,  _appropriately,_ " she said, eyeing her wife. 

"Which is exactly why she shouldn't be picking a bathing suit like that. She is too young to have people hit on her!" Nicole said in exasperatedly. 

Waverly rolled her eyes and smiled. 

"No, she's not, she's 15. I had my first boyfriend at 15," Waverly said, she winced, immediately regretting her choice of words. 

"Yeah and that was Champ and looked how great that turned out," Nicole mumbled.

"Uh, it did turn out great. I married my best friend and the love of my life," Waverly said. "She's 15, of course, guys or girls are going to start flirting with her, it's normal. I think you should let her them."

Nicole continued to stare at the wall. "Fine," she grumbled.

"What about this one," Spencer said giddily as she walked out of the changing room with a yellow bikini. It was tied at the front and the bottoms were natural, it was cute and it wasn't that bad or showy. 

Waverly gently nudged Nicole's leg, urging her to let her have this one. 

Nicole rolled her eyes and sighed. "Fine. But go find another and it better be a one piece," she said, pointing her finger at Spencer.

"Yay!" Spencer squealed in excitement, she walked back into the changing room and changed backed into her clothes in record time. She handed her new bathing suit to Nicole and Waverly and went back out to shop for another suit. 

"I hate you," Nicole mumbled. 

Waverly smiled and took Nicole's hand in her own. "Oh, but I love you. And you know I'm right. I think it's sweet that you wanna be protective of her."

"Ok this one," Spencer said, walking quickly back into the changing room. It was just a simple, suit tied in the back, with cut lines at the hip. It was cute, yet had coverage. 

Nicole had to admit, she didn't totally hate this one. 

"Yeah, it's cute," Nicole said forcefully, not wanting to admit that she was wrong. She was normally really good with that, especially since marrying Waverly. Her wife could be so stubborn sometimes. 

"I'm gonna go try it on," Spencer said with a huge smile on her face. 

She came out a few minutes later and it was cute, yet covered enough for Nicole, so she agreed to buy them both and a few other summer clothes. 

They were out shopping for a litter over two hours and stopped for lunch on the way home. 

 

~~~

 

"Well that wasn't too bad," Nicole said, plopping herself on her side of the bed next to Waverly, who was currently watching an ocean documentary. 

"It went better than I thought it would," Waverly said, draping her arm and hand over Nicole's thigh. w 

"I'm tired," Nicole whined, grabbed the blanket behind her and throwing it over herself. 

"My poor baby," Waverly half mocked and half cooed. "Come here." She scooched over and held out her arms and Nicole fell into them, resting her head on Waverly's chest and shutting her eyes. 

Waverly reached for the remote and turned off the television and started gently running her hand through her wife's soft, red curls. 

"Get some sleep, we'll order dinner tonight, I don't feel like doing dishes since we have to wake up early tomorrow," Waverly said quietly. But she didn't have to tell Nicole twice, she was already half asleep, peacefully on Waverly's chest. 

All three Nicole, Waverly, and Spencer were getting used to each other and they were getting acclimated to the household. They were all starting to warm up to each other and Nicole's urge to adopt them was growing even stronger. But for now they just wanted to focus on getting away on their vacation. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> trick ya there didn't i ;)
> 
> Also- this is no hate to people that didn't change their last names!! i know multiple who have gotten married and didn't change their last name. just thought it would add more depth to the story! 
> 
> A bit of backstory on Ferryn's name. So I know it's a weird name and definitely not a common one. But I have a whole baby name list and really like the nontraditional names. Names like John and Emma are a bit too generic for me. And I look on Pinterest a lot for uncommon names. And I found Ferryn and fell in love with it. It's an English name if you really want to know it's origin :)


	27. The Sandbox

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang gets away from reality and goes on vacation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahh, I love writing family chapters like these.
> 
> Also I think Chrissy's boyfriend had a different name I don't remember, but I'm lazy and don't feel like looking back through it again and it's not like this is an official book or anything so it's not super triggering if it's wrong.
> 
> And I probably won't be super active in writing in the next two weeks or so because I have finals and the SAT, so just be patient with me!!

It was 9 in the morning and they were on the road to Moraine Lake. It was about a four-hour drive and they didn't feel like wasting half of the day. So Waverly and Nicole and their kids, Wynonna and her family, Jeremy and Robin, and even Chrissy and her fiancée Danny were coming too. 

All the kids except for Spencer were asleep, she was staring out the window. She was admiring at the morning fog, glistening with sunlight, watching it roll over the Canadian mountains. 

Waverly was a bit taken aback because they surprised her with one of Nicole's old iPhone 7 since she was going to be staying with them for a while. She thought she would've been on that thing not even attempting to be a part of the real world.

"Only two and a half more hours to go," Nicole said quietly, glancing over to Waverly. 

They left Purgatory around 7, Wynonna and Doc were a little ways behind in their new black Ford truck. Jeremy and Robin, well, they lost them actually, and Chrissy and Danny were just behind Wynonna. They were kinda just praying to Jeremy and Robin at this point, considering no one was answering their phone. 

"How are you feeling?" Nicole asked, glancing over at Waverly. 

She had felt a little nauseous before they left, but she got some food in her and felt fine. 

"Better, I think I was nervous for all this travel and everything. But I feel better now, just tired," she said with a small smile. She gently placed her hand over Nicole's, who was currently resting her hand on Waverly's thigh. She wrapped her thumb around Nicole's fingers and looked out the window, admiring the view. 

"We'll be there soon," she said happily, tracing circles on Waverly's thigh with the pad of her thumb. 

 

~~~

 

Two and a half hours later and they finally arrived. They got the car unpacked in record time and half unpacked their suitcases but started to get hungry, so they ordered some pizza. But they were now back unpacking and Waverly went out to get some groceries, they were going to be eating out a lot but also wanted to have some home-cooked meals since they were going to be spending a week up there.

Waverly and Nicole took the big bedroom since they had two babies with them, while everyone else took the normal sized ones, and Spencer and Levi took the smallest one since they were going to share. Their bedroom was across the hall from Robin and Jeremy's and Chrissy and Danny's. Waverly and Wynonna were across the hall from each other as well. But the thing that was everyone's favorite was the big fireplace and flat screen mounted above it. 

Nicole was in the middle of getting the babies Pack 'n Play set up when Spencer came in. 

"Hey, Spence, what's up?" Nicole asked, looking up quickly before returning her attention to the mess of their cribs. 

"You don't mind if I go check out the water do you?" she asked politely. 

"No, just don't go too far. And you can swim, right?" Nicole asked, standing up from her bent down position. 

She shook her head yes. "I just want to check it out, no swimming today. I feel gross anyway." 

"Everything is unpacked?" 

Spencer shook her head yes again. 

"Yeah."

Nicole nodded. "Ok, yeah go ahead, just not too far."

"I know," she said with an annoyed tone. "I heard you the first time," she said over her shoulder. 

Nicole smiled, she was glad that some of her teenage 'nature' was starting to show, that meant she was starting to get more comfortable with them. 

Hazel and Ferryn were currently in their car seat carriers, Ferryn was in the middle of her nap and Hazel was happily sucking on her pacifier while watching Nicole set up their cribs.

"Hi, sweetie," Waverly said, walking into their bedroom. "Are you awake sweet girl?" She bent down and picked up Hazel and sat at the edge of the bed with her and took out her pacifier, placing it next to her. 

"You're probably hungry, huh?" Waverly lifted up her shirt and undid her bra and took out her breast. She didn't breastfeed that often anymore since they were Hazel was starting to get used to solid foods, but sometimes when they traveled it was a little easier than making a mess of the baby food. 

Nicole sighed and shook her head as she watched her wife nurse their daughter. 

"What?" Waverly asked with a nervous smile and a quirked eyebrow. 

"You never fail to look hot as hell when you breastfeed," Nicole said sitting down next to her. 

"Such a charmer," Waverly said sarcastically. 

"I wish I could help like that sometimes," Nicole said, picking up Ferryn who woke up with all the commotion. 

"What do you mean?" Waverly asked.

Nicole shrugged. "I don't know, I guess I wish I could breastfeed and just, have that bond like you do with her, y'know? It's like a different bond if that makes sense."

"Baby, you have a huge connection with you, until a few months ago she would only let you bottle feed her and how many times have you both fallen asleep together with her passed out on your chest? And sometimes she would only stop crying if you went to get her. She loves you so much Nicole and you know blood doesn't make a family, I mean, look at our three other kids," Waverly said, looking back down at Hazel to make sure she was feeding ok. 

Nicole's stomach fluttered, something that happened every time Waverly openly said or acknowledged that Ferryn, Levi, and Spencer were 100 percent fully a part of their family. Waverly and Nicole, of course, considered them family. But the thing that they both did and both admired about each other was how they treated them as their family, too. They didn't let them get away with anything and disciplined them as their own and gave them chores like they would if they were legally their children. 

"And all of them love you so, so much. And know that you know Alice adores you, she dressed up as you  _three_ times, three! The first was Halloween, Wynonna had her sheriff costume down pat, the second for career day at preschool. Baby she literally just wants to be just like you. And the third time was for pure fun. They love you, I love you," Waverly said, cleaning Hazel up and putting her shirt and bra back on. 

"I know, I'm sorry. Just having four kids can make me a little crazy sometimes," Nicole said looking down at her lap. 

"Don't apologize, baby. Just remember that we all love you so, so much and being blood-related or not doesn't change a thing," Waverly said, putting Hazel over her shoulder and burping her. 

Nicole shook her head and forced a smile. She stood up, put Ferryn back in her carrier and leaned down and pecked Waverly on the lips before returning to set up the Pack 'n Play. 

"I love you."

"I love you, too." 

 

***

 

"Babe you packed the swim diapers right?" Waverly asked as she was rifling through their suitcases and packed bags.

"Yeah, I bought them yesterday," Nicole said, changing the babies into their bathing suits. "I'm pretty sure I did." She finished Hazel's last button on her pink flower suit before standing up to help Waverly. 

"Did I not?" She started looking through the bathroom cabinets while simultaneously holding Hazel in her arm. 

"Dammit, I guess I didn't," Nicole said with a sigh. 

"Sorry, sweetie," she said, emerging out of the bathroom and sitting on the edge of the bed.

Waverly waved her hand. "Don't worry about it, we can stop on the way to the lake." 

They were heading out to Quarry Lake, which was about an hour drive. They were planning on going to Banff National Park and really exploring Moraine Lake and all the nature around it, but it was too hot and all they wanted to do was go swimming on a beach somewhere. 

"C' mon you guys! We don't have time for a quickie, so get your asses dressed and down here, we're all waiting!" Wynonna yelled from the bottom of the stairs. 

Waverly smiled and rolled her eyes. "We better get going."

And with that, they headed downstairs and packed their cars, diaper bags, extra clothes, baby food, bottles, and that was just for the two babies. They packed strollers and the baby carriers and some snacks, too. They were planning on staying out the whole day. 

Everyone in the car actually ended up falling asleep on the way there, even Waverly and she rarely ever took naps, especially in the car. They made a quick pit stop for swim diapers and traffic was in their favor today. They got there in a little under an hour. 

"Are you excited, guys?" Waverly asked the kids while putting the babies in their strollers. 

"I'm not sure the stroller on sand is going to work," Spencer said, throwing on her backpack. 

"You're probably right, but I don't feel like carrying them all day," Waverly said with a chuckle. 

"We all set?" Nicole asked. She was carrying a backpack, chairs, some floaties for the babies and Levi, and the diaper bags. 

"Yep! Let's go, I'm starting to sweat," Waverly said, pushing the strollers towards the sand. And Spencer was right, it was hard to push the strollers in the sand, but Waverly made do and they picked out their spot. It was off to the side where there were fewer people. 

"I'm going in," Spencer said, taking off her shorts.

"Sunscreen," Nicole said handing the spray bottle to her. 

"I already put it on before we left," Spencer said with an annoyed tone and rolling her eyes. 

"Well, be careful," Nicole said, eyeing her as she walked towards the water.

"I can swim," she said sassily, you could practically hear her eyes roll for a second time. 

"Time to get my tan on," Wynonna said laying back on her towel and closing her eyes. 

"Ugh, me too. I'm so pale," Chrissy said, taking a spot between Waverly and Wynonna. 

"What about your daughter?" Waverly asked. "You know, the one that couldn't stop talking about swimming all morning?" 

"Doc's going to swim with her for a while, then we'll switch. Geez, what's with the questions? You're not one to judge look at how pasty you are," Wynonna asked sitting up and propping herself on her elbows. "Not as bad as your wife over there," she said, pointing over to Nicole who was putting sunscreen the babies. 

"Hey! I'm not that bad," she said, looking down at her pale skin. 

"I think you're beautiful," Waverly said with dreamy eyes. 

"Ugh," Wynonna gagged. 

"She's not wrong, Waves. You could use a tan," Chrissy said, lifting her sunglasses and glancing at Waverly. 

"I don't need a tan. I'm a mom now, I have bigger and better things to worry about," Waverly said straightening out the beach towel, her anxious twitch was to clean something. 

"Um, I'm a mom too," Wynonna chimed in. 

"Yeah, to one. Try four," Waverly said.

"Relax, Waverly," Nicole said, placing her hand on Waverly's arm. "We're at the beach! It's a beautiful day out. Just forget reality ok?"

Waverly nodded and smiled. 

"Well, we're off to go swimming," Robin said throwing his shirt on top of his backpack. 

"And look for seashells," Jeremy said happily. 

Wynonna laughed. "Have fun with that. Don't take offense if people comment on the giant rainbow across your ass." 

"We won't!" Jeremy exclaimed over his shoulder, ignoring Wynonna's snarky comment. 

"Let's take the babies in the water," Nicole said, standing up and taking Ferryn in her arms. 

Waverly took Hazel and they both headed for the water. It wasn't the warmest, but it wasn't as cold as they thought it would be and there were a good amount of people swimming. 

Nicole went knee deep and knelt down and let Ferryn get a feel for the water. She smiled and squealed at the top of her lungs. She smacked her hands on the water, splashing herself and Nicole. 

"She loves it," Nicole said with a smile. 

"Hazel does, too," Waverly with a chuckle. Hazel was splashing around and ended up splashing herself in the face. 

"Is that fun? Probably a little cold, huh?" Nicole said in her high pitched baby voice.

"Spencer's made a friend," Waverly said, looking in the distance, seeing Spencer and two teens, a boy and girl her age, standing at the shore, wading in the water. 

"Or should I say, friends." 

Nicole squinted to get a better view. And she wasn't too happy with what she was seeing. 

"I think I'm going to introduce myself," Nicole said, picking up Ferryn and getting ready to stomp over there. 

"No," Waverly said, grabbing Nicole's hand and pulling her back. 

"Waverly! I don't know them or him. She's too young!" Nicole said, shaking off Waverly's grip.

"No, baby. She's not too young, she's 15, she turns 16 this summer. I know you want her to be safe and I think it's cute that you're protective of her. But she can handle herself and they're not doing anything besides standing there and being awkward," Waverly said calmly.

"He's staring at her boobs!" Nicole said, probably a little louder than she should've since a few people looked at her. 

"Well, she is in a bikini and he's a teenage boy. Have you learned nothing from high school?" Waverly said sarcastically. 

"Waverly," Nicole whined. 

"Nicole," Waverly said, stepping closer. "I still stare at your boobs and I'm almost 30."

"You're my wife. You're allowed to, I want you to stare at them, they're great boobs," Nicole said proudly. 

Waverly laughed. "The point is, there's going to be flirting and there's going to be a lot of awkward tension. Just let it be, it's what teenagers do. And I  _trust_ that you will step in if she's in danger."

Nicole huffed and eyed them one last time before turning back to Waverly. 

"Fine," she mumbled. 

Waverly stifled her laughter. She thought it was cute and hot that she was so protective of Spencer. She could really see Nicole being a great mom to all four kids. 

For the most part, everyone was keeping to themselves at the moment. Doc and Danny were playing with Alice and Levi, Spencer was hanging out with her new friends, Waverly and Nicole were in the water with their babies. Jeremy and Robin seemed to be having a good time swimming and finding seashells, and Wynonna and Chrissy were tanning.  

They decided to get lunch at seafood close by the beach and just walk around town for the rest of the day. Chrissy and Waverly went off to go shopping, Doc and Danny seemed to be interested in the gun store, and Wynnona and Nicole brought the kids to the park, they weren't really into the shopping scene. Spencer wasn't happy about saying goodbye to her new friends, but she was secretly happy to be spending some time with her brother. 

"How's it going with Spencer?" Wynonna asked. 

Nicole nodded. "Good, I think things are going better than we expected," she said as she readjusted Hazel in her arms. 

"I think this one is starting to get the hang of walking," Wynonna said has she held Ferryn's arms as she teetered her weight from one foot to her other. 

"Yeah, we're going to have to start babyproofing the house." Nicole looked at her in awe. "She's growing up so fast. When she first to live with us she could barely stand. And now she's walking."

Wynonna nodded and smirked. "You're getting old Haught."

"Um let's not forget who's the older one here," Nicole said. 

"Yeah, by one year."

"Yeah, so you're old, too."

Nicole watched as Ferryn fell back down to her knees and crawled over Wynonna's feet. 

"So, I take it you want to adopt them," Wynonna said, glancing over at Nicole. 

Nicole looked over at Wynonna with a surprised look.

"What?" she asked a little astonished.

"Oh please, it's so obvious. Even Waverly knows you want to adopt them," Wynonna said confidently. 

Nicole sighed and looked back at the kids playing the park. 

"I love them, Wynonna. I love them so much. They're as much a part of our family as Hazel is. I can't let them go," Nicole said ardently. 

"Blood doesn't make a family," Wynonna said quietly, picking Ferryn up, preventing her from putting mulch from the playground in her mouth. 

Nicole shook her head no. "No, it doesn't."

"Well, you better think of something fast. Waverly is starting to catch on."

"I'd bring it up, but I don't want to scare her and I really want these kids to be a part of our family. I don't want to jeopardize the chance of that," Nicole said, leaning back on the bench. "She's not ready." 

"Give it time," Wynonna said. 

"I know, but I don't know how much time I can keep giving. I don't want to risk them being taken away."

"That's not going to happen. They don't have anyone else. Right now you're-"

"No!" Levi yelled in the distance. Spencer and her new friends were playing with him in the sandbox. And you could hear and see that he was having a meltdown. "No, I don't want to!"

"Take Hazel," Nicole said handing her to Wynonna. She now had two babies in her arms. 

"What's going on?" Nicole asked as she approached the sandbox. 

"He refuses to play with the green sand castle and shovel. But it's the only one that's not broken," Spencer said tossing them in front of her. 

"What's wrong with the green one, bud?" Nicole asked kneeling down in the sand. 

"I don't like the color green," he said simply. 

"Well, that's ok. The color won't have any effect on your sand castle," she said reaching for it. "Here, let's make one together."

"No! I don't want to, I don't want to!" he yelled. He threw himself in the sand and started throwing a fit. Throwing his arms and legs all over the place and bawling his eyes out. 

"Oh god," Nicole said. 

"Hey Levi, it's ok," she cooed, attempting to pick him up and calm him down. 

"No, I don't want to play with the green! I don't like it!" he screamed at the top of his lungs as well as flailing his body around, causing a scene. 

Spencer leaned in. "Um, do something!? It's embarrassing me," she whined under her breath. 

Nicole glared at Spencer. "I'm trying." 

"No, stop!" he screamed, trying to wiggle out of Nicole's embrace. 

"Is everything ok over here?" a man asked as he was walking by. 

"Everything's fine," Nicole snapped. " _Please, Levi,"_ she thought in her head. 

"Buddy, everything's going to be ok," she said calmly, holding him tightly trying to keep his movements stilled. She kept repeating that it was going to be ok and held him tightly and he eventually calmed down a few minutes later. 

"Spencer, grab the diaper bag we're going to get going. It's time for their nap anyway," Nicole said exasperatedly.

She nodded and stood up and walked over to Wynonna.

"C' mon buddy, let's go home and rest up for a while," Nicole said, standing up with him in her arms. 

Levi nodded and smiled. "Ok! My trucks are home!" 

Nicole quirked an eyebrow at how fast he got over his tantrum because she sure as hell wasn't over it. Quite honestly she couldn't wait to go home and crack a beer and close her eyes.

The drive home was quiet, all four kids fell asleep, even Spencer. They got the four and unders in their cribs and down for a nap and now they were just waiting for the rest of them to come home.

"That was a lot," Wynonna said, plopping herself down on the chair across from Nicole.

Nicole nodded while taking a sip of beer. "Yeah, it was. I've never seen him act like that."

"Well, he was tired. That probably had something to do with it," Wynonna said,

"Yeah, I guess," Nicole mumbled. She shut her eyes hoping to get just a little rest.

"He'll be fine when he wakes up."

Waverly and Chrissy came in laughing with bags ruffling in their hands. 

"Shh!" Wynonna said standing up. "The kids are asleep," she said quietly. 

"Oh, sorry," Waverly said whispered. She and Chrissy set their bags down by the door.

"I'm going to go shower," Chrissy said.

"The downstairs one," Nicole said.

"Of course."

Waverly sat down next to Nicole with a grunt.

"So, how did the park go?" she asked happily, moving a strand of red hair from Nicole's eyes to behind her ears.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

"Good," Nicole lied.

Wynonna looked over at them and scoffed before returning to her beer.

"What?" Waverly asked with a scrunched nose.

"Nothing," Nicole said with a forced tone. "Everything went fine."

Wynonna shook her head and took another sip of her beer.

"What's going on?" Waverly asked suspiciously this time.

"Oh god, Wynonna will you just shut it?" Nicole exclaimed, whipping around to yell at her sister-in-law.

"Well maybe if you would just man up and tell your wife I would," Wynonna snapped. 

"Nicole," Waverly said sternly. "What is going on? And you better not lie this time." 

"Levi, just, he got a little upset at the park is all," Nicole said with a sigh. 

"A meltdown is more like it," Wynonna said snarkily. 

"Wynonna shut the hell up. You didn't even help! You just say on the bench and watched!" Nicole blurted out. 

"Um, I was holding  _your_ kids. So don't you dare say that I didn't do anything!" Wynonna shouted back. 

"Oh please for once in your life can you just speak with an inside voice, you're going to wake the babies!" Nicole whisper yelled. 

"Me!? You're the one who started shouting!" Wynonna said in her normal tone. 

"Well maybe if you just-" 

The baby monitor went off on the coffee table. Cries from both babies and needless to say, it pushed Nicole to the edge. 

"Oh my fucking god, can I ever get some damn peace?!" she shouted. 

She stood up and stomped upstairs and towards their bedroom where the babies were. 

"Wynonna, what the hell?" Waverly said glaring at her sister. 

"What are you looking at me for? Your wife was the one that started it!" 

"Well maybe if you could just shut it for once this wouldn't have happened. I know my wife better then you and she would've told me when she's ready," Waverly said standing up. 

"Oh please, she already lied to you about it!" 

"Just do yourself a favor Wynonna and quit while you're ahead," Waverly called over her shoulder.

Wynonna stared at her sister with a dumbfounded look.

"Ugh!" she groaned, throwing burying her face in a pillow. 

"Here, I got her," Waverly said taking Hazel, freeing up Nicole's arm. 

Nicole handed her over but didn't say anything.

"So, do you want to tell me what that was about?" Waverly asked calmly, rocking Hazel back and forth, standing across from Nicole. 

Nicole sighed. 

"Levi had a meltdown over the fact that the sand castle and shovel in the sandbox were green. I told him that it wouldn't mess with this sand castle and he flipped out even more and threw a full-on temper tantrum, flailing his arms everywhere and screaming bloody murder," Nicole shook her head.

"I didn't even know what to do. He was freaking out, I've never seen him act like that before." 

"Maybe he was just having a rough day," Waverly said with a shrug. "Don't take it personality. He's not even 5 yet." 

"But, Waves. It was like the green sand castle took his toy car and smashed it. It was so not like him," Nicole said. She put Ferryn back down in her crib since she was able to get her to calm right back down. 

"And then he went back to acting like nothing happened not even 5 minutes later. I mean, am I doing something wrong?"

"No, baby. You're doing nothing wrong," Waverly said with a warm smile. She sat down and handed Hazel back to Nicole. 

"You are such a great mother to those kids. And they love you, so much. Spencer does, too, even if she won't admit it. You're doing everything right. He's four, do you know how many four-year-olds throw temper tantrums?" she reached up and played with Nicole's little baby hairs on the back of her neck. 

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Nicole said. She brought Hazel up to her face and gave her a kiss and hugged her tight. "Sorry, we woke you Hazey." 

Waverly smiled. "I'll be in the shower," she said standing up.

"Relax," she said bending down and giving Nicole a kiss on the top of her head. "Remember you telling me to relax? Well, don't forget to take that advice too." She left Nicole with that and hopped into the shower. 

Twenty minutes later and she walked out of the bathroom to find Ferryn still peacefully asleep in her Pack 'n Play and Nicole leaned up against the headboard asleep. Levi was tucked into Nicole's right arm watching Finding Nemo on low volume, and Hazel was rested up against Nicole's body asleep in the other arm. Levi didn't even notice Waverly so she took the opportunity to take out her phone and take a picture, making a mental note to make it her screensaver later. 

"Hey bud," Waverly said quietly. "How's the movie?"

"Good," he said quickly, avoiding eye contact and keeping his eyes fixated on the TV. 

Waverly walked over and gently picked up Hazel, trying to not wake Nicole. 

Nicole opened her eyes and exhaled. "Oh, what time is it?" she said in a raspy voice. 

"It's almost five, we have dinner at seven," Waverly said, putting Hazel in her crib and letting her continue her nap. She walked back over and crawled into bed on the other side. Levi was now in between them, his only focus was on the TV. 

"How are you feeling?" Waverly asked, reaching out her hand and intertwining it in Nicoles.

"Better," Nicole said smiling. "Thank you, for calming me down." 

"Anytime, my love," Waverly said, leaning in and giving her wife a peck on the lips. 

"Hey," Spencer said walking into their bedroom and not knocking. Just another reason why she reminded Waverly of Wynonna. "Mind if I join you?" 

"Of course not," Waverly said with a smile, moving over to make room. 

Spencer tried to hide the smile forming on her face and walked over and laid horizontal on the foot of the bed, partly on her phone and partly watching the movie. 

They spent the rest of the time before dinner cuddling with Levi and their babies when they woke up. They watched Finding Nemo and half of Finding Dory and Waverly found herself seriously falling in love with this. She could see them in bed on snow days and sick days, cuddling their babies and having their big teen baby take up almost the whole bed. It felt right to her, which terrified her, she knew that she was getting in deep, but the thought of them being taken away was starting to slowly break her heart. Granted they've only known Spencer for a week and they still had a lot of stuff to work through, but it still felt right. She could see Wynonna being more than a best friend than an aunt, Chrissy being the fun aunt, her uncles trying to be sporty, yet hip at the same time, and her cousins, who looked up to her. All of them being one big, chaotic, revanant fighting, yet loving family.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope I did an ok job at explaining like 'blood-relation' and all that foster family stuff. I'm adopted (fun fact) and I like to think that I know like what i'm talking about. But I just don't how to explain it, so yeah.
> 
> Get ready y'all, the next few chapters or so are be leading up to some things ;) so pay attention.


	28. Green

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nicole and Waverly run into some more problems with Levi.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> y'all might be able to guess what's up with Levi, but don't spoil it for anyone else if you do!! and sorry this chapter is so short, just wanted to get this out before shit hits the fan, not in the chapter but my life, haha. halfway done with finals and then the SAT on Saturday. wish me luck!!!

It was the next day and they have already spent the morning and a good portion of the afternoon at Banff National Park. They were back at the cabin now while everyone was relaxing before dinner. They were planning on having a barbecue in the backyard. Everything was going good so far.

"Hey, bud," Nicole said to Levi who had woken up from his nap. She hoisted him onto his booster chair at the counter. "Want a snack?" 

Levi nodded while scribbling in his coloring book. 

Nicole opened the fridge and grabbed an apple and cut it up and grabbed the peanut butter. She reached for the kid plate, divided into three, and it just so happened to be green. She looked back at Levi, who was still happily playing with his trucks. She decided to test her luck and give him the green plate, she wanted to know how he would react if yesterday was just a fad or if he was really bothered by the color green. 

"Here," she said, handing him the plate and watching his reaction. 

He stared at it, but then pushed it away and went back to his crayons. 

"Levi you love apples and peanut butter," she said gently pushing the plate back towards him. 

"But the plate is green. I don't like green," he stated with a calmly. 

"Your snack is still going to taste just as good," she said, walking over to his side. "Here," she said, grabbing an apple and dipping it in peanut butter. 

"No," he whined, turning his face away. 

"C' mon, it'll still taste the same," she said, trying to hand it to him. 

"No, stop! I don't want it!" he exclaimed. He pushed Nicole's hand away with his. 

"What's going on?" Waverly asked as she stepped into the kitchen. "You're going to wake the babies." 

"It's green!" he whined, looking over at Waverly and pointing to the green plate. 

"What is?" Waverly asked walking over. She gently ran her fingers through his brown hair. 

"The plate!"

"Oh," she said. She smiled at him. "Don't worry, it's just the color. Your food will still taste and look the same. See?" she grabbed an apple, dipped it in peanut butter and took a bite. "It tastes just as good." 

"No! I don't want it why can't you understand?!" he exclaimed, he looked past Nicole and didn't look her in the eyes. He started to cry and put his hands over his ears and started rocking back and forth. 

"Ok, what if we put it on a blue plate?" she asked. 

"Ugh, no!" he exclaimed. 

"Nicole, will you?" she asked ignoring Levi's answer, gesturing toward the blue one in the dry rack. 

She nodded and grabbed the plate and took the apples and put them on the new plate, she took and spooned the peanut from it onto it, too. 

"Here, buddy," she said putting it on the counter in front of him. "Is that better?" 

"No," he said shaking his head. 

Nicole's face fell, she just wanted to make him happy. 

"Why? It's on a new plate."

"It was already on the green plate. It can't touch," he stated, looking up and putting his arms back down. 

Nicole sighed and buried her hands in her face and looked up. 

"It's fine, Levi. Will you please just eat it?"

"No," he said calmly and continued to color. 

Nicole was about to open her mouth and say something, but Waverly cut her off before she could even get a word out. 

"Alright, well it's a long way until dinner so you're going to have to be patient," Waverly said. "So I don't want to hear any whining that you're hungry." She 

"Ok," he said.

Waverly leaned in to kiss his head but Levi flinched and pulled away. But he hopped off the chair and went to the living room as if everything was going normally. 

"That was weird," Nicole said, putting his snack back in the fridge. "But you see what I mean about how it was like color green offended him? He took it so personally."

"Yeah, it was odd." Waverly agreed. It was really strange, they'd never seen him act like that before. "Maybe it's just a phase. I'm sure he'll grow out of it." 

Nicole sighed. 

"He doesn't normally have a problem with me kissing him, does he?" Waverly asked, baffled by their interaction. 

"I don't, I don't think so?" she said, wondering the same thing. She shook her head. 

"What was all that noise? You woke me from my nap," Wynonna said, grabbing a water bottle from the fridge. 

"Nothing, just Levi," Nicole said, cleaning up the mess that he made. 

"Did he freak out over green again?" Wynonna snarked as a joke. 

"Yes, actually he did." Nicole leaned against the kitchen sink and looked over at her sister-in-law.

"Oh," she said, looking up at Nicole with apologetic eyes. "Sorry."

Nicole shook her head. "It's ok. I thought it was just a thing, a thing that happens and then you get over it. But I guess not 'cause he flipped." 

"I think it's just a phase, he'll get it over it soon," Waverly said optimistically. 

"I don't," Nicole mumbled. "I mean, what kid has a meltdown over the color green. Someone takes his green hulk toy, yeah I get that. But a green plate?"

"It'll pass," Waverly said, rubbing Nicole's arms. "When I was four I refused to wear the color yellow. Anything bumblebee or princess Belle related I wouldn't wear."

"But did you freak out like that?"

"Um, no..." Waverly said sheepishly. 

"Exactly, this is weird Waverly. Something feels off, I don't think it's a phase," Nicole said confidently. 

"Well, look at him now," Wynnona said, pointing out Levi sitting on the couch. "He's watching TV and it has the color green on it. He's not freaking out." 

Nicole looked over and noticed it, too. She walked over and sat next to him. 

"What are you watching bud?" she asked calmly. 

"Thomas, look at how fast he's going! Did you know trains can go as fast as 150 miles per hour?" he said excitedly. 

"No, Levi, I didn't know that. That's cool!" she said, trying to be enthusiastic despite her concern. 

"The grass in over there is green," she said pointing at the TV. "It doesn't bother you?" 

"Well, it's not bright green like the plate and it can't touch me. And the grass is dark green, not bright green. So no, not really." 

Nicole looked over at Waverly and Wynonna and they both gave short smiles, letting Nicole know that they heard. To be completely honest she just wants to go be angry and frustrated and sulk in her room, but she decided to stay there with him and continue to watch Thomas the Train with him. 

They all went to dinner and Nicole tried her best to not let it get to her, but it was really itching at her. She knew something was wrong, she just knew it. She was trying her best to be optimistic, but she just wanted to know what was wrong with her baby. She knew that she wouldn't be getting any sleep that night. 

 

~~

 

 

"You look like hell," Wynonna snickered as she sipped her coffee.

Nicole was the last one to wake up the next morning. And Wynonna was right, she looked awful.

"Aw, my baby," Waverly cooed, she put down her coffee and walked over and wrapped her arms around Nicole's neck. "You didn't get any sleep last night did you?"

Nicole shook her head yes. She sleepily smiled at Waverly and leaned in for a kiss, which caught Waverly off guard. She giggled and deepened it, which caused a groan from Chrissy and Wynonna.

"Ugh, alright you two. It's literally 9 AM, I don't want to see this," Chrissy said, rolling her eyes.  

Waverly laughed and pulled away. 

"Come with me, love," Waverly said, taking Nicole's hand and leading her upstairs. 

"I swear to god if I hear any moaning up there, I will come up there!" Wynonna called out from the kitchen. "We have a lot to do today!" 

"Waverly, I love you, but I'm too damn tired to have sex. I promise I'll make it up to you," Nicole said, being led into their bedroom. 

Waverly giggled as Nicole sat at the foot of their bed. "I didn't bring you up there to have sex. That's for later," she said with a wink. "I brought you up here to talk to me. What's going on? We had a huge, action-filled day yesterday, there's no way you weren't tired. So, what kept you up all night?" 

Nicole sighed and flopped back, closing her eyes. "I couldn't stop thinking about Levi. Something's wrong, Waverly. I just know it." 

Waverly crawled on the bed and sat next to Nicole, who's arm found its way around Waverly's waist.

"It's not normal, what kid has such a big meltdown over the color of green. And not just normal green, bright, neon green." 

Nicole sighed. 

"Well, you gotta admit, neon green isn't too pretty to look at," Waverly said, hoping to get a rise from her wife. But instead, she was met with a glare. 

"Aw, baby. I'm sorry, I was just trying to joke around," she said, laying back and look up at the ceiling with Nicole.

"Are there other things we haven't noticed? Like out of the ordinary things?" Nicole asked, racking her brain for anything. 

"Hmm," Waverly mumbled. "He's never really been in favor of hugs and he likes to play with trains and airplanes. And he surprisingly knows a lot about them. I mean, that's all I can really think about. Oh, and he also rambles a lot." 

"Ugh," Nicole groaned. 

Waverly pat Nicole's thigh. "Let's not worry until we have something to worry about. I mean, yeah, it was a pretty big meltdown, but he's four, four-year-olds overreact." 

Nicole shook her head yes. "Yeah, I guess you're right." 

Waverly scoffed and smiled. "I know, I'm right." 

"As I said, my wife is so humble," Nicole mumbled, curling up close to her burying her head into the crook of her neck. 

"Let's go eat some breakfast, love. You need something in your system," Waverly said, craning her head to kiss Nicole's temple. 

Nicole groaned. "Ok," she whined.

Nicole and Waverly walked back into the kitchen hand in hand and they were also met with Wynonna smirking at them. 

"Wow, quick and quiet. I'm impressed," she said, smacking her little sister on the bum. 

"Shut up, Wynonna," Waverly said playfully. "We were just talking." 

"Yeah right." 

"We made waffles," Chrissy said, handing her a plate with a waffle, drizzled in syrup and topped with fresh berries. "Well Jeremy did actually, I just watched." 

"I squeezed the fresh OJ," Danny said proudly, holding up his glass full of orange juice. 

"Thank you guys," Waverly said, taking a seat next to Ferryn and Levi. 

"Hazel had a blowout, but no need to worry, I took care of it," Doc said, walking back from the bathroom and handing her off to Nicole. 

"Auntie 'Cole, look!" Alice squealed, showing her the drawing she made of everyone at the cabin.

"Wow, it's beautiful, sweetie," she bent down and kissed her on the top of her head. "I love it."

"Levi! Let's make some more!" she yelled across the room. She ran to the coffee table in the living room and went back to coloring. Levi soon following after.

"Waves, all his drawings, well, scribbles, all avoid the color green," Nicole pointed out, putting Hazel in her Rock 'n Play.

Waverly sighed and stared at her wife. "Just relax, remember you were telling me that at the beach? We only have a few more days of vacation left, let's not spend them worrying, ok? If he freaks out over the neon green color, again we'll handle it. It's not like we've ever dealt with a temper tantrum before, ok?"

Nicole nodded and ate her waffles. "Ok, I'm sorry, Waves. I keep bothering you and bringing this up and ruining the vacation."

Waverly reached out and placed her hand over Nicole's. "Don't apologize, you're concerned about our boy. And I'm pretty impressed by your observation of every little thing."

Nicole smiled and they both went back to eating. Waverly was right, she needed to stop worrying and just be in the moment and enjoy the vacation time that they rarely ever got. She spent every day worrying back at home, this vacation was supposed to be stress-free. So she was going to try really hard to just enjoy the moment with her family. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry if this chapter kinda sucked. trust me i know it's trash and doesn't make sense, but it will soon i promise. my brain is just done and the school year is almost over and i'm just so done lol. the next one will be better!! just ignore the shittiness and know that it'll all make sense soon. love you guys! xx


	29. Lake Louise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang spends the day hiking and visiting Lake Louise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyooo. i hope the last chapter didn't suck because it's really bothering me how bad it was. anyways i hope this one is better and makes up for it :) 
> 
> even though i only wrote three chapters worth of vacation just pretend they were there for a week...
> 
> also i guess i have more time than i thought to write. SAT is over and school is basically done for me so

"Spencer, don't forget sunscreen," Waverly said, handing her the spray bottle. 

They all decided to spend the day at Lake Louise, hiking and then visiting the Banff National Park Hot Springs up in the Canadian Rockies. But it was a hot day out on the ground level, so they needed sunscreen. 

"You too, Levi. Come here," Waverly said. "Hold out your arms and close your eyes and mouth." 

She started to spray the cold sunscreen on, and he began to giggle, which made Waverly giggle. 

"Here, let's rub this in your face," she said, spraying a little on her hands. She reached out and starting to rub the sunscreen into his face gently, she was met with a bit of resistance from him, but overall, he was ok with it. 

"C' mon guys. Let's get going; I have some pictures to take!" Chrissy said excitedly. "The sun is at its high point right now!"

"I suggest you guys hurry up. Otherwise, you won't hear the end of it," Danny said jokingly, avoided the gentle slap from his fiancée. 

Chrissy was a professional photographer. She was mainly an elopement and wedding photographer, but occasionally like to take landscapes shots too.

"Yeah, she's going to take our engagement photos," Jeremy said, looking lovingly at Robin.

Everyone stopped dead in their tracks and looked up at him with wide eyes.

Robin gave Jeremy a stern look. "He's kidding."

Jeremy's not so funny joke didn't get any laughs, and everyone went back to making sure that their stuff was all ready to go. 

Nicole and Waverly had dropped the babies off at a local babysitting service that their Moraine Lake Lodging had suggested. So it was just Alice and Levi and they were going to take more of the easy trail. 

"Can we go now?" Levi whined. 

"Not yet, not everyone is ready," Nicole answered.

"No, but you said after we put sunscreen on that, we would go! We put sunscreen on, and we're still here!" he exclaimed. 

His outburst over the specific plan and time Nicole happened to say to him surprised her. She knew little kids were impatient; she just didn't think that he would take the "we" part literally. She thought he would understand everyone and not just them four. 

Spencer saw that the kids were getting antsy and offered to take them down to see the water. "C' mon guys, let's go check out the water while they get ready."

"Oh, ok!" Levi said happily. 

Alice already started to run ahead but ran back to grab Levi. 

"C' mon Levi!" she squealed, grabbing his hand and pulling him forward. He immediately ripped his hand out of hers and looked towards the blue water. Alice was a little surprised, but Levi ran ahead like nothing ever happened. 

"I see what you mean," Waverly said quietly to Nicole. "I thought he would know that "we" meant everyone. I think you might be right." 

"Yeah but I don't want to be," Nicole mumbled, tying her shoelaces. "I just want him to be just fine; I want him to be perfect." 

"I know, baby. But no one's perfect," Waverly said, standing on her tippy toes and pecking Nicole on the cheek. 

"Yo! We going or what?" Wynonna called out to the three kids standing down by the lake. One was on her phone, and the two others were playing with the rocks on the shoreline. 

Levi and Alice ran back, and Spencer followed slowly behind, continuing to stare at her phone, only for it to be snatched from her hands by Wynonna. 

"Thank you," Wynonna said, smoothly taking Spencer's phone from her hand. "No phones today." 

"What? Are you kidding me?" Spencer exclaimed, looking over and Nicole and Waverly, hoping they would back her up.  

"She's right, Spence. No phone's today, live in the moment. It's beautiful out, where else can you get such a view?" Waverly asked happily, admiring the Canadian mountains, snow atop of them, and the sun shining through.

"Yeah whatever Lewis and Clark," Spencer muttered snarkily. She pushed passed them and started heading towards a trail. 

"Well, are we going?" she asked angrily. 

"Um, it's this way," Chrissy said, pointing to the trail with blue markers. "That one is too rough for the kiddos," she said, holding her hand out and showing the kids height, signaling she meant Levi and Alice. 

Spencer sighed and rolled her eyes and started stomping toward the blue trail. She just wanted to storm off and sulk, but Nicole wouldn't let her do that.

"Well, Merriwether Lewis," Nicole said, getting Spencer to turn around and look at her. "Unless your partner William Clark is out scouring the land for buffalo I suggest you don't go too far since you don't know where you're going." Nicole subtly called her out for her snarky comment earlier.

She stopped walking and quirked her eyebrow; she knew that she Spencer was starting to understand her snide comments wouldn't be tolerated. Spencer knew that being disrespectful won't get her far. Nicole and Waverly knew that they weren't her parents, but they sure as hell were going to try and raise her to be a great human being. 

 “Well, it’s marked blue, remember?” she snarled, trying to pick a fight. 

“Do you see any obvious blue marks? It's been years since they repainted them and unless you know what you're looking for," Nicole answered. 

”Well, how are you so sure you know where you’re going?”

”I used to spend every summer here with my parents and then again in college with my friends, I know my way around,” she said, walking past Spencer. “Stay with us, please. I don’t want you wandering off and getting hurt or worse, lost.” 

Spencer rolled her eyes followed, sulking behind the rest of them. 

It was a beautiful day for a hike and everyone was really enjoying the view. It wasn't too difficult for the kids and their little legs kept up just fine. In fact, they had to remind them not to run ahead. Spencer was doing her usual, sulking in the back and making comments under her breath, all to be ignored by everyone. Nicole knew Spencer would get over it soon and just let her sulk in peace. Levi especially seemed to be interested in the bugs they found.

The trail brought them up to one of the peaks on the mountain. The view was truly breathtaking, the pictures couldn't do it justice. Chrissy was snapping a bunch of landscape pictures as well as some portraits of people. Waverly had asked for one with just her and Nicole, and then the four of them, they were only missing the two babies. Spencer even asked for a few and asked to be individually edited just for her. And by the time they came back down the mountain, Spencer was just fine and even better when they gave her phone back. They had lunch there before heading up to the hot springs. 

"Jump in Levi!" Nicole exclaimed, holding out her hands to catch him. 

"He's a cutie," Chrissy said, her and Waverly were sitting on the side of the pool dipping their feet in the water along with a bottle of beer.  

"Yeah, he is," Waverly said with a broad smile, watching Nicole and Levi play together in the water. It was pretty evident to everyone but Waverly that she was starting to fall in love with them. 

"Have you thought about adopting him?" Chrissy blurted out. 

"What?" Waverly nearly choked on her beer. She was used to Chrissy's not so subtle nature and her tendency to speak before she thinks, but Waverly wasn't expecting this question. Not this soon anyway, it had only been a few months. 

"Have you thought-" 

"No, I heard you," Waverly said, setting down her beer beside her. "Where did that come from?"

Chrissy shrugged. "I mean, it's pretty obvious you love them. It's like they've been with you guys all along."

"Well, it certainly feels that way," Waverly said quietly.

There were a few seconds of silence before someone said something.

"Well, I guess the question still stands. Have you? Y'know thought about adopting them?"  

Waverly sighed before answering. "It has crossed my mind once or twice." 

"Once or twice?" Chrissy asked, knowing Waverly might not be telling the whole truth. 

"Maybe a little more," Waverly mumbled. "I mean, you are right, it feels like they've lived with us for a while. I don't know, they've only been with us a few months. And we've only known Spencer for about two weeks." 

"And you haven't heard anything from their birth parents, no birth grandparents either or anything?" 

"No." 

"And you love them, right? Forget about the amount of time you've known them," Chrissy said, stopping Waverly before she could protest. 

Waverly thought a second before she answered.

"Yes," she said confidently. "I love them. Even Spencer, though we've just met. She reminds me of a mix of Nicole and Wynonna. What more could you ask for?" She chuckled.

"Well then what are you waiting for? Adopt them," Chrissy said like it was no big deal. 

"We can't just adopt them like that. There's a process, and even then it just doesn't feel right. It's just not the right time," Waverly said quietly. 

"So there is going to be a time?" Chrissy asked excitedly. 

Waverly sighed and rolled her eyes. "I don't know." 

"I fail to see the big deal over adopting them. They love you and there's no one else who will love them more than you guys." 

"Chrissy, there are so many other factors to consider," Waverly said with an annoyed tone. 

"Like what?" Chrissy retorted. 

"Um for one thing they could have other family members that want to raise them. Legally they have guardianship over them. And if they do they might not want to live with us, they might decide to live with their relatives or even just straight up not want to live with us," Waverly snapped back, trying to keep her voice down. "And might I add the expenses?! I love them, and it's not about the money but they need a college education and college isn't cheap. I don't want them to be in debt for the rest of their lives. We only started saving up for Hazel the year we got engaged." 

"Waverly, you're over thinking this," Chrissy aggressively. "It's really-"

"Hey," Nicole said, slowly making her way over to Waverly and Chrissy in the shallow end. "What are you two talking about?" she stood on her tippy toes and Waverly leaned down and kissed her and smiled. Waverly wrapped her arms around Nicole and pulled her between her legs and held her tight. 

"Oh nothing," Waverly lied. "Just talking about wedding stuff." She hated lying to Nicole, even if it wasn't a big, bad lie. 

"Ah, I remember having those conversations with, Wynonna," Nicole said nostalgically. "Wynonna didn't help much." 

"Well, those things aren't her thing anyway," Chrissy said, glaring at Waverly. 

Nicole furrowed her brows, sensing the tension between the two best friends. 

"Well, I thought I'd take a break and let Wynonna swim with them for a while," Nicole said, hoping to change the subject and ease the tension. 

"How's he doing?" Waverly asked. 

"He's a pretty good swimmer considering he has floaties," Nicole said, leaning back into Waverly's embrace. 

"Well, what do you want to do for the rest of the day?" she asked, looking up at her wife. 

"I'm going to get another beer," Chrissy said, leaving them alone to talk. 

Waverly internally screamed, knowing Chrissy knowingly left to give them so private time to 'talk'. 

The moment Chrissy left Nicole turned around and gave Waverly a sultry look, wrapping her arms around her wife's waist. 

"You look hot," Nicole blurted. 

Waverly laughed. "I'm not wearing anything special."

"Are you kidding me?" Nicole asked in disbelief. 

Waverly was wearing a simple black bikini, tied at the back and the sides of the bottoms. She had her hair up in a messy bun, sunglasses on, and it didn't hurt how defined and toned her abs were; abs that she worked for very quickly after giving birth. She also happened to be sporting a string anklet that Nicole bought her on their honeymoon to Bora Bora. 

"Everyone here better be jealous of me," Nicole bragged. 

"Of you?" Waverly said, feigning annoyance. 

"Yeah, 'cause I married the prettiest women on earth," Nicole said dreamily, pulling her in closer. 

Waverly smiled and leaned down to kiss Nicole. It wasn't often that she was taller than her wife, and she loved the few moments when she was.

"Smooth," Wynonna said sarcastically, handing them both beers. "We're leaving for dinner, and I figure you might need these."

"Why?" Waverly asked with a quirked eyebrow. 

" 'Cause of that," Wynonna said, pointing over to Levi who was having another meltdown. He had his hands over his ears, and he was crying. It was a very odd behavior that they had never seen before. 

"Oh my god," Waverly exclaimed, standing up and shoving the beer back in her sister's hand and rushing over to him. 

"I swear it wasn't that bad when I got up to get these," Wynonna said, gesturing to the beers. 

Nicole ignored her hopped out of the pool and followed her wife. 

"Hey Levi, what's going on bud?" Waverly asked, grabbing her cover up before kneeling to his level.

Nicole knelt and placed her hand on his shoulder, which he pulled away immediately. 

"Alice wouldn't let him play with her ball, and he started to freak out," Robin said. "We tried to calm him down, but it got worse."

"Buddy, what happened? Alice wouldn't let you play with her ball?" Nicole asked, keeping her tone as gentle as possible. 

He shook his head. "She said that we could play with her ball after she was done playing with Jeremy and then Jeremy went to get water, and she wouldn't let me play with it!" he screamed. He started to pace back and forth and wring his hands.

"We weren't done playing!" Alice screamed back. 

"It's ok, sweetie, why don't we go get some water, ok?" Wynonna said, taking Alice's hand and leading her toward the mini bar and concession. 

His commotion and unusual behavior started to get some people staring, so they lead toward the back of their pool chairs, hoping that people would begin to ignore it. 

"They stopped playing, and I went to go get it and she wouldn't let me! She kept saying no and pushing me away!" 

Levi tightly closed his eyes and started to jerk his arms and hands back and forth, kind of like a flapping movement. 

Nicole looked at Waverly with nothing but worry in her eyes. 

"Ok, Levi, can you look at me please?" Waverly asked. But Levi continued to keep his eyes shut. 

"Here, let's just take a few deep breaths, can you put your hands down please?" Nicole asked, gently rubbing his back. 

He complied and finally put his hands down and opened his eyes. 

"We're going to go get dinner, so why don't we get changed, ok?" Waverly stood up and held out her hand. Levi reluctantly took it and followed her into the changing room. 

"I don't think he's acted like this before, has he?" Jeremy asked, walking up next to Nicole. 

"No, he hasn't," Nicole said aggravated. She hastily grabbed their bags and headed for the changing room, too. 

Nicole became increasingly worried the more meltdown and odd behavior he showed. Waverly thought he was just a four-year-old, but she was starting to agree with Nicole; that someone was wrong. All they wanted for their kids was to be perfect, or at least as close to perfect as possible. 

 

**_The next day..._ **

It was bright and early the next morning, they were on the way home from their cabin. They'd been on the road for about two hours. All the kids were asleep in the back and so far the babies hadn't started crying. Waverly was actually driving, she decided to let Nicole get a little extra sleep since she'd been up all night worrying about Levi. 

Nicole was peacefully asleep until Hazel woke her with her crying, which also woke Spencer up, but not Levi or his sister. 

"Ugh," Nicole said with a yawn. "I got it." Nicole climbed over the console and crawled next to her crib, trying her best not to disturb the rest of them. They usually pulled over to deal with one of the kids, but they were on the highway and having Nicole climb to the back just seemed more efficient. 

"Are you hungry?" she cooed. She picked up Hazel and gave her a soft kiss on the head, holding and comforting her, which softened her cries. "Let's get you a bottle."

Nicole quietly pulled a bottle of formula from the diaper bag and brought it to Hazel's mouth, and she instantly latched on. 

Waverly looked back at them in the rearview mirror, admiring her beautiful family. 

Nicole was able to feed her and change her diaper. It wasn't the easiest since the car was moving around, but she managed. She rocked her and got her sleepy and put her back in her car seat, giving her a pacifier. None of the other babies had woken up yet, so she crawled back to the front and buckled her seat belt. 

"Spence, are you hungry?" Waverly asked, looking at her through the mirror. 

Spencer shook her head no. "No, just tired."

"I need more coffee," Nicole said, downing the last sip in her thermos. 

"We can stop at Starbucks," Waverly said. "The exit is in about a mile. We can all stop for a bathroom break anyway." 

The only thing about having to stop was waking the kids up. They both hated to do it because it interrupted their sleep and also made them grumpy. 

"C' mon bug, we stopped to get something to eat," Waverly said softly, gently running her hand through his soft, brown hair. 

Levi ignored her and shifted in his seat and continued sleeping. 

Waverly looked across at Nicole, who was getting Ferryn out of her car seat and she was very much awake. Nicole smiled at her and whispered to just let him keep sleeping. The only difficult thing with having four kids is having to balance them between two adults, especially if half of them couldn't walk and/or the other didn't want to walk. 

Spencer was holding Hazel, who seemed to take to Spencer very quickly. Waverly could see behind Nicole that they were both smiling and giggling, which melted her heart. 

"Ok. Let's get some breakfast," Waverly said with a slight groan. Levi was getting bigger, which meant he was getting harder to pick up. 

Nicole put Ferryn in her ergonomic baby carrier and Spencer agreed to just carry Hazel in her car seat, considering she wasn't really that hungry. 

He rested her head on Waverly's shoulder and wrapped his arms around her neck, continuing to sleep as they walked into Starbucks. 

"We'll get a spot outside," Waverly said, heading for the patio in the sun. Spencer followed while Hazel was happily sucking on her pacifier while enjoying the warm sun. 

Levi was still asleep and didn't wake up no matter how many times Waverly tried. But in all honesty, she didn't mind, she loved holding her little boy in her hands. 

Nicole got their usual, an iced macchiato for herself and a green tea latte for Waverly. Spencer just wanted a black-lemonade iced tea and she got some chocolate milk for Levi. Waverly asked for some oatmeal and fruit and Nicole got a breakfast sandwich. She got one for Levi to in case he got hungry later. 

"Here honey," Nicole said, handing Waverly her food and drink. 

"Tea for you," she said, sliding Spencer's black tea to her. "I also got you a bagel, I know you're not hungry now but just in case."

Spencer smiled. "Thanks." 

Nicole saw Waverly struggling to eat and hold Levi, so she offered to take him. 

"Do you want me to take him while you eat?" she offered. 

Waverly smiled and shook her head no. "No, I don't mind it." She craned her head and gave him a soft kiss on the side of his head. "It's ok, you go ahead and eat. I can eat and drive," she said, adjusting Levi in her arms since he was slipping. 

Their breakfast was mainly eaten in silence, partly because they were tired and there was also not that much to talk about. Waverly knew that Nicole wanted to talk about Levi and what the next steps were, but it was too early for both of them to process that conversation in an adult manner.  

Nicole popped off the lid to Hazel's green-colored baby food and grabbed her baby spoon. The bottle was enough to suffice at the moment, but she was still hungry.  

"Still hungry aren't we?" Nicole asked, gently putting the spoon in her mouth. She caught the food that she spat out with the spoon before wiping her chin off. 

Levi finally woke up, sitting in Waverly's lap and laying his head on her chest. He must've been really tired because he slept through their entire breakfast. 

He let out a big yawn before speaking. 

"Where are we?" he asked rubbing the sleep from his eyes. 

"Starbucks, we stopped for some breakfast. But you," she said, gently bopping his nose. "You were really tired and slept the whole time." 

"Oh," he said, yawning again and laying his head back down on Waverly's chest. "I'm hungry." 

"We got you a breakfast sandwich," Nicole said, handing it to him. "And some chocolate milk." 

He sat up and unwrapped it. There was some anxiousness with Nicole and Waverly, hoping that there wasn't going to be something that would set him off. Ever since their vacation, it felt like they've been walking on eggshells with Levi, not wanting to upset him and send him into a temper tantrum. But he ate his breakfast with no problem and pretty soon they were back on the road again. 

They got home within the next two hours, the kids were down for a nap and Spencer was playing guitar quietly. 

"Is that Spencer?" Waverly asked. Nicole moved over and let Waverly lay down next to her on the couch and ottoman. 

"Yeah," Nicole shook her head proudly. "I let her have my guitar since I don't really play it anymore. It needs new strings, well if we're being completely honest she could use a new one. But that's just not in the budget right now," she said, furiously typing away on her computer. 

Waverly smiled. She leaned in and placed a soft kiss to her wife's cheek. 

Nicole blushed. "What was that for?" 

"For being my hero," she said cheesily. "You handled Levi and all his meltdowns this vacation. Without you, I probably would've freaked out and overreacted. So thank you, my love." 

Nicole closed her laptop and craned her neck and pulled Waverly into a proper kiss. 

"We balance each other out, I freak out on the inside and you freak out on the outside," Nicole said with a chuckle. 

Waverly slouched down and let her head fall onto Nicole's arm, she could already feel her eyelids starting to droop. 

"What do you think happened this weekend?" Nicole asked, causing Waverly's eye's to open. 

"Um," she said wiping her eyes. "I don't know. It was odd though, wasn't it." she ran her fingers through her brown hair. 

"Waves, something's up, I don't know what. Just, something doesn't feel right," Nicole said, closing her laptop and putting it on the coffee table next to her. She opened her arms and let Waverly cuddle up next to her. 

"I agree, I totally agree," Waverly said, closing her eyes. 

"I mean, nothing like that has happened before. It was like he threw a tantrum over the smallest things I think we should take him to a doctor something. What do you think?" She looked down and saw that Waverly was peacefully asleep with a few soft snores. She smiled at herself and gently placed a kiss on top of Waverly's head. She laid back and finally succumbed to her exhaustion and felt her eyelids slowly shut.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you all are smart individuals so im sure you guys can guess what's going on with Levi. just don't say anything for those that don't lol. idk i feel like this chapter was just really cringy reading it back... but im just going to go with it and please forgive me for it sucking and being cringy.
> 
> i tried to base the things they do off of real life things, like the hot springs and everything is a real thing, but it kinda bothers me that my details are off but it just adds more to the story, so if some of the detail comes off as sporadic or anything like that just ignore it.


	30. The Fish Tank

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some stuff happens with Levi. Waverly and Spencer spend the day together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you all for the support on the last few chapters and just in general!!! i'm so glad you guys are enjoying. much love xx  
> also sorry this wasn't up earlier, i went on a last minute vacation!
> 
> this also kinda sucks, after i came back from vacation i forgot how to write, which i'm sure is obvious. but please just roll with it lmao

"C' mon Levi we're going to be late for school!" Nicole yelled up the stairs. He had another week of school left even though they let him skip a few days for their vacation. 

Levi came running down the stairs, with both shoes in the wrong feet. 

"Ok, lunch, backpack," Waverly said, checking off things as she went. She took his lunchbox and put it in his backpack and made sure that he had everything he needed for the day. 

"Uh," Nicole said, looking down at Levi with his left shoe on his right and vice versa. "We'll fix it in the car." 

"Bye, I love you," Waverly said handing Nicole the backpack while leaning in and quickly pecking Nicole on the lips before they headed out the door. "Bye, Levi!" she said before he walked out the door and to the car. 

"I love you too, I'll see you this afternoon," Nicole said, quickly grabbing her keys. She decided to end the day early and leave around lunchtime so that she and Waverly could spend the rest of the day together. 

Waverly smiled as she looked out the kitchen window and watched them walked out the door and to the car. She turned back around and was met with the mess that they had made in the kitchen that morning. 

She started to clean the kitchen, starting with the mess of pancake batter and scrambled eggs. But she heard the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs and looked and saw Spencer, mid-yawn, hair up in a messy bun, sweatpants, and a t-shirt. 

"Wow, it's not even 8:30 yet. Are you sure you're a teenager?" Waverly asked jokingly. 

"Well, Nicole's yelling kinda woke me up." She walked into the kitchen, grabbed a coffee mug from the cabinet and poured herself a cup of coffee, which shocked Waverly a little. 

"Do you want some cream?" Waverly asked. 

Spencer shook her head no, "I like it black." 

"Drinking coffee, waking up at 8 o'clock in the morning, again, are you sure you're a teenager?" Waverly asked with a smile. 

"You learn to love it after being tossed from home to home," she said, taking a small sip and hissing since it was still very hot. 

"How many homes have you been in?"

Spencer thought for a second before answering. "About 6, maybe 7. I'm not really sure. I stopped keeping track after a while."

Waverly nodded. "Well, I hope that you are happy with our home."

A faint smiled appeared across Spencer's face. "Yeah, I think yours is pretty good." 

Waverly blushed. "I'm glad, we want you to find your last permanent home. Whether it's with someone else or u-" she stopped mid-sentence. She was about to say 'with us.' She wasn't even sure why. She hadn't even had a chance to think about it, let alone consider it. She looked away and blushed. 

Spencer looked over and quirked an eyebrow at Waverly's sentence. 

"Well I have some errands to run and I'd like to get them over with before Nicole gets home. So, go get ready," Waverly said, turning to the kitchen cabinets. "What do you want for breakfast?"

"Cereal!" she called over her shoulder. 

Waverly nodded and smiled at herself. She was actually pretty happy to be spending some time with Spencer. 

 

~~

 

"Knock, knock!" Chrissy said chipperly as she stood in the doorway of their office.

Nicole looked up from her desktop.

"Uh, hey! Yeah come in," she said, curious as to why her wife's best friend was at the office instead of her photography studio. "Waverly's not here today, she's out running errands with the kids."

"No silly, I'm here to see you," Chrissy said.

"Oh?" Nicole asked with a quirked eyebrow. 

"I also brought you lunch," she said, placing it on her desk. "It's from Cafe 56." 

Nicole opened it as Chrissy sat at the desk Waverly's desk, which was across from hers. 

"A wrap?" she asked, opening the white box. 

"Yes, you can't eat beer and burgers every day, right?"

Nicole nodded and felt her annoyance growing. It wasn't that she didn't love Chrissy, she did, she was a great aunt and she was grateful Waverly had someone else besides her and Wynonna. it was just that her blunt personality wasn't always appreciated. 

"That is a chicken salad wrap with celery, some walnuts, oh and there are some cranberries as well. I also had them add pickles, I hope that's ok," she said as she set down her purse. 

"Mmm," Nicole said with a forced smile, trying to hide her obvious look of disgust. "Thanks." 

Chrissy smiled. 

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Nicole asked, setting the bag off to the side. 

"I wanted to talk about the kids," Chrissy said slowly. "Specifically adopting them."

Nicole groaned and rolled her eyes. "Oh my God, now Wynonna and you? Did she put you up to this?"

"No, it's-"

"God, she was the one telling me that this was a bad idea in the first place and now she's trying to coerce me into rushing into this," Nicole whined. 

"No, no, nothing like that," Chrissy said shaking her head. "It's uh, that uh," she stuttered, trying to find the right words.

"Waverly and I were talking the other day by the pool and you came by and asked us what we were talking about," Chrissy said. 

Nicole nodded.

"And we told you that we were talking about wedding stuff, but we weren't," Chrissy paused, bracing herself for the possible bad reaction Nicole could have. "I asked Waverly if she wanted to adopt them." 

"Ok," Nicole said slowly, processing what she had heard. "What did she say?"

"Well, she said that she loved them. And apparently, Spencer reminds her and of a mix of you and Wynonna."

Nicole smiled at the last sentence. 

"Did she say that she wanted to adopt them?"

"Not... not in so many words," Chrissy said, wringing her hands together. "She said that she doesn't think that it's the right time." 

Nicole quirked an eyebrow. "So, she does eventually want to adopt them?" 

Chrissy shrugged. "I couldn't get a straight answer." 

"So, what answer did you get?" 

Chrissy sighed. "She said that 'it's not that simple' so I'm not really sure. But she does love them." Chrissy smiled. "She really loves them, it's pretty obvious."

"Yeah, it is." A grin formed across Nicole's face. 

"And it's pretty obvious that you love them," Chrissy said, trying to read Nicole's expression. 

Nicole didn't do anything but nod and avoid eye contact. 

"What are you, uh, trying to say?" Nicole asked. 

Crissy inhaled deeply before responding. "Well, I think you should put it on the table."

Nicole furrowed her eyebrows. 

"Meaning you should talk to her about it, or at least bring it up-" 

"No, yeah I got it," Nicole said. 

Chrissy nodded. "I think that deep down, Waverly wants to adopt them. But something's holding her back. I think that she needs some reassurance, y' know that you're going to be there no matter what." 

Nicole was taken aback by Chrissy's last sentence. 

"What are you talking about?" she said, her voice lacing with annoyance. "I would never, ever leave Waverly. I love her, I love her with whole heart, my whole everything!" 

"No, no, I know that that's not what I meant," Chrissy said in a calm tone. "I know you love her. But as you know, Waverly's never had any sort of stability in her life. Everything in her life has gone to shit until she met you. You seriously changed her life. She went from living in fear to living in the moment, living the moment with you. Up until then, nothing has ever worked out for her. She's scared that something's going to go wrong and she's going to end up letting them down somehow. 

Nicole's shoulders dropped and she didn't make eye contact with Chrissy. 

"I guess I never really thought about it, not like that anyway," Nicole said quietly. 

"Just think about, really think about it," Chrissy said while standing up and grabbing her purse. "My phone is always on if you want to talk."

Nicole forced a smile but didn't stand up to properly say goodbye to her. "Thanks, Chrissy." 

Chrissy nodded and walked out of the office. Wynonna came in a few seconds later. 

"How much did you hear?" Nicole asked, burying her head in her hands. 

"Enough to agree," Wynonna said, leaning against the doorway. "Want me to go and get you a proper 'Nicole' lunch?"

"Yes please," Nicole said, leaning her head on her hands and looking up and staring at the wall in frustration. 

She hated to admit that Chrissy was right, but she was. She should talk to Waverly. No, she needed to talk to Waverly. 

 

~~

 

"You like goldfish, right?" Waverly asked, holding up the big box of Goldfish Extra Cheddar. 

Spencer shrugged and then nodded. 

"I know Levi loves them," Spencer said. 

"That he does. But he'll only eat the extra cheddar ones," Waverly said with a smile, setting the box gently in the shopping cart. She gently caressed and kiss Hazel's head, who was sleeping against Waverly's chest in her carrier. "He gets the cheese everywhere and makes a mess." Waverly laughed. 

Spencer smiled and let out a small laugh. "Yeah, he does." 

"He really missed you y' know," Waverly said, pushing the cart down the aisle, Spencer walking next to them. She grabbed a 'Gogo Squeeze Applesauce' to Ferryn who was strapped into the shopping cart. She had been pretty good this grocery run and she was starting to get fussy, so Waverly was distracting her with a snack. 

"I know," Spencer said, looking down. "I missed him, too. I hated not knowing where he was or if he was safe. No one would tell me anything." 

Waverly reached out and placed her hand on Spencer's arm in sympathy, she half expected her to pull away, but she didn't. 

"What were your other foster homes like?" Waverly's eyes widened at the question she had blurted out without thinking. "Oh, I'm sorry, you don't have to answer if you don't want to." 

Spencer shook her head no. "No, it's ok. I don't mind." She took a deep breath in before continuing. 

"They all kinda sucked. There was really only one that stood out, besides yours. There was one where they were clearly doing it for the money. We lived in a small mobile home. They could barely afford their own kid let alone three extra foster kids. We had to sleep in the same room on the floor on one beat up, dirty mattress and someone always ended up rolling off of it. They were fat, smelly, and gross. They never picked up after themselves, the place was a total mess. I felt really bad for their daughter, she only like four and was really skinny. They barely bought any food for her, only for themselves. And she was constantly exposed to their smoking and drinking. It sucked, anytime I tried to help her or give her some extra food or play with her, they would yell at me. Or beat me. Or both," she said, staring down at her feet. "I lost a lot of weight living there." 

Waverly was completely appalled by how she was treated. She couldn't believe it. Her heart broke at upon hearing about Spencer's past. "I'm so sorry, Spencer. That must've been really hard." She stopped pushing the cart and turned and faced her. 

Spencer shrugged. "It's fine, it's whatever. It's in the past and there's nothing that we can do about it."

Waverly nodded and reached out to place her hand on Spencer's shoulder, but she saw it coming and pretended to smooth out her sweatshirt to avoid Waverly's sympathy. 

"I don't want to talk about it anymore," she mumbled. 

"Ok, we don't have to talk about it anymore," Waverly said, grabbing almond milk and regular milk. "Anything you want to know about me?"

Spencer shrugged again. "Why a lesbian?"

Waverly laughed at Spencer's blunt personality, just another reason why Spencer reminded her of Wynonna. 

"Well, back when I was 21, I was dating my high school boyfriend, Champ Hardy," Waverly said. 

Spencer snorted. "What kinda name is Champ?"

"I don't know," Waverly said with a laugh. "But either way he was an ass. Never respected me or women in general. He only wanted me for my body and for arm candy. He was a huge dumbass with an even bigger ego. He never bothered to listen to me or even get to know me. Yet he bragged just how long we have been together. I was pretty miserable being in a relationship with him."

"Why did you stay with him?" 

Waverly sighed. "Well, we were pinned as 'high school sweethearts' and I guess we were just living up to that name. I mean everyone assumed we were going to get married and have kids, even myself. He definitely had a way of invalidating my feelings." 

She turned to Spencer with a serious face. "If you ever get in a relationship where your questioning worth, you need to get out of there, immediately," she said, turning her story into a little teaching moment.

Spencer rolled her eyes and sighed. "Yeah alright,  _mom_ ", she mocked. 

Waverly knew she was joking, but she liked the thought of being called mom. She knew that Hazel would be calling her mom eventually, but the thought of having more than one kid call her mom made her stomach do flips. 

"Still, why a lesbian? Just because of one bad dude?"

Waverly beamed while thinking about the first time she and Nicole met. " Not exactly, no. He was really my only long term relationship. But I met Nicole when she walked into the bar that my aunt owned."

"Wait, you own a bar?"

"My aunt does, I worked there," Waverly said, grabbing a carton of eggs and checking them to make sure they weren't cracked. "She's tough, but once you get to know her she'll soften up. We can go check out the bar if you'd like."

Spencer shook her head no. "Um, that's ok, you have stuff to do today, right?"

"We can make a pit stop," Waverly said, putting the eggs in the cart. "You know what, we can just make it a whole thing, my aunt should meet you kids anyway. I haven't had a lot of time to see her. And besides, we're overdue for a family dinner. You'll love them. And I think you'd really like my sister, you two are really similar. It'll be fun. And Levi and my niece Alice are best friends." 

Spencer internally rolled her eyes but didn't want to hurt Waverly's feelings since she was getting excited over planning this family dinner. 

"You never answered how you met Nicole," Spencer said, hoping to change the subject.

"Well, she walked into the bar asking for a cappuccino, but we were closed. I was cleaning the beer tap, but it had been broken for weeks and I ended up getting sprayed with beer. I went to change my shirt-"

"Wait, you just straight up changed your shirt in front of someone you don't know?" 

"I had a tank top on underneath, it was kinda a see-through shirt. But it got stuck taking it off and I ended up having to ask her to help me. And that was that that, the rest of was history," Waverly said, dreamily looking off in the distance. "I fell in love and fell in love hard. She completely took my world and flipped it upside down."

Spencer gagged. "I just asked why you're into chicks, not your entire love story." 

Waverly laughed. "Sorry, but she really is a great wife and a great person. And she's a great mom, you guys are really lucky to have her." 

"She's not my mom," Spencer snapped, glaring at Waverly. 

"I know," Waverly said calmly. "I know that." She changed her tone so it was more gentle. "But whether she's your mom or not, she's a really great person and she really cares for you guys. She has the biggest heart of anyone I know and is always putting herself last. So I stand by what I said, you guys are lucky to have her, you're even luckier to know her." 

Spencer sighed and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I guess," she grumbled. 

There were a few minutes of silence while Waverly and Spencer walked down the dairy aisle, Waverly grabbed some yogurt and butter before anyone said anything. 

"Do you have an idea of what you want to do in life?" Waverly asked, hoping to get to know Spencer more.

Spencer shrugged and sighed. "I don't know."

"What about going into music? You're really good at the guitar, I've seen you playing."

Spencer blushed. "I'm not Taylor Swift, I'm not that great." 

"Oh stop, I think you're really good. And you don't have to go into performing, maybe music production or even becoming like a backup band for a solo singer."

Spencer rolled her eyes. "I like music but it's not something I want to go for the rest of my life." 

Waverly nodded. "Ok, well, brings me back to the question, what do you want to do?"

"Well  _that_ brings me back to the answers, I don't know," she said. "Becoming maybe like a lawyer or even a social worker. I want to give back to the system." She blushed and shrugged her shoulders. "I really don't know though." 

"That's ok, you don't have to know this early. Don't know, enjoy being young while it lasts," Waverly said as they walked to the checkout and started putting their items on the conveyor belt. 

"That's what everyone keeps telling me," Spencer mumbled. 

"Take the advice, trust me, don't worry until you have to," Waverly said. "I only made that mistake a couple of hundred times," she mumbled.

Spencer didn't say anything as they checked out and walked to the car. 

"What did you mean? You made that mistake?" Spencer asked as they drove back home.

Waverly inhaled deeply while keeping her eyes on the road. 

"Hm," she said slightly frustrated. It wasn't that she didn't want to share, she loved the fact that she was bonding with Spencer. It was just that she didn't know where to start.

"My sister, Wynonna, you know the one you met when you-"

"Yeah, I know who she is," Spencer interrupted.

Waverly nodded. "Well, my sister and I had a really, really rough childhood. But she really had it a lot worse than I did. She got tossed from foster home to foster home, was in juvy a few times, and was even in a mental institution. No one," Waverly paused and sighed. "No one ever listened to her. She was always tossed aside and thrown under the bus. After getting out of jail for the last time she went and left Purgatory when she was of age." 

"Where did she go?" 

"Um, I believe it was Greece. But I didn't see or hear from her for years. And it sucked, not knowing if she was safe, or even alive. I called every day when she left. But every day went from every week, then every week went from a few times a month, and that finally went to once or twice a year. And after 2 and a half years of radio silence, I gave up and stopped calling," Waverly blinked her eyes rapidly to keep the tears from falling.

"But when she left I really had no one to talk to, I mean my best friend Chrissy was always there for me. But she gives opinions rather advice and while it's nice to complain together, you really get tired of it. But my Aunt Gus and Uncle Curtis did the best they could, but I couldn't really talk to them like I could talk to my sister. It's not really the same talking about guy problems with your Aunt and Uncle," Waverly said with a slight chuckle. 

"But you're a lady lover?"

Waverly laughed. "I wouldn't necessarily put a label on it. I guess I just found who I was later in life is all. But anyway, with Wynonna gone and no one to talk to, I grew up pretty fast and put a lot of pressure on myself to get good grades and act mature, more mature than my age. I started working in the bar around 15. I took AP classes, took a couple of college courses, and graduated top of my class. I did nothing but work, work, and work when I was your age. I didn't hang out with my friends or ex-boyfriend too often when I was in high school. And I regret it when I graduated it was work, for real. I had to work real hours and pay real bills, I couldn't just ask my Aunt for money anymore. But long story short, don't grow up until you have to."  

Spencer nodded before saying something. "Why did she come back?" Spencer asked, turning to Waverly, waiting to hear the rest of the story. 

"Who my sister?"

Spencer nodded. 

"She came back for our Uncle Curtis' funeral, which also happened to fall on her 27th birthday. And boy, her birthday brought a lot of hell," Waverly mumbled. 

"What do you mean?" 

Waverly sighed and shook her head. "Oh just, nothing, it's a long story and I don't feel like getting into it right now."

It fell silent for a few seconds. 

"But when she came back we reunited and now we're closer than ever. Besides Nicole, she's my best friend," Waverly said with a smile. 

Spencer didn't say anything and the rest of the car ride home was silent. But it was an uncomfortable silence, Waverly felt like she connected a lot more with Spencer. And truth be told Spencer didn't mind the fact that she spent the day with Waverly, just listening to her stories. It was comforting to know that she wasn't the only one with a rough childhood. 

 

~~

 

"Hello?" Nicole asked, answering the phone on her desk after the third ring. 

"Oh no, this isn't a bad time, you're actually saving me from paperwork," she said. 

Wynonna paused writing her email and looked over at Nicole. 

" _Who is it?"_ mouthed. 

" _Levi's teacher."_

"Wait, what?" Nicole asked in disbelief, sitting up in her chair. 

Wynonna kept watching and listening, curious as to what Nicole and Levi's teacher were talking about. From the looks of it it seemed to be pretty serious. 

"Is he ok? Wait, why, why would he do that?" Nicole nodded before continuing. "Yeah, I'll be right over," she said with a big sigh and she hung up. 

"What's up with Levi? Is he ok?" Wynonna asked. 

"Yeah, he's fine," Nicole said getting up and grabbing her coat. "He apparently pushed over a fish tank in the middle of class." 

"What? Like a full-on, like, tank?" Wynonna asked, holding out her hands for more emphasis. 

"Apparently, I don't know. But I have to go," Nicole said, heading out the door. She quickly dialed Waverly's cell number and put it up to her ear as she walked out of the station. 

" _Hey, baby. Do you think on you could pick up some bread on the way home? I forgot to get it at the store."_

"Um, Waves," she said, with a serious tone. 

" _What's wrong, my love?_ " Waverly asked, sensing her wife's stressed tone. 

"Levi's teacher called and there was an incident at school, he apparently knocked over a fish tank," she said, starting the engine of her police cruiser.

" _Um_ ," Waverly said, not really knowing how to process what she heard. " _Like, accidentally_?" 

"No, on purpose," she said with a sigh. "But they want to meet with us if your home I'll come and pick you up, but if not just meet me there."

" _Jesus, ok. I just put the babies down for their naps and I'm sure Spencer wouldn't mind being home alone for a little while,"_ Waverly said. 

"I'll be there in 10 minutes," Nicole said, hanging up and putting the car in drive.

She didn't really know how to process the information either. She didn't think that a four-year-old that weighed only 40 pounds could knock something over twice his weight. But throughout the millions of questions running through her mind, there was only one that stood out, why? Why would he knock over a fish tank purposely? Either way, her and Waverly were going to found out why in just a few short minutes. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> y'all will found out some more info in the next chapter! so stay tuned xx


	31. Date Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We take a step back and just have a chapter purely dedicated to Waverly and Nicole.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i stayed up until 3 AM trying to finish this because my 'creative juices' were really flowing and by the time i was finished i was too lazy to proofread, so just ignore any grammar mistakes or details that seem sporadic. but thank you guys for the support and i love you all <3

"Mrs. Earp, Mrs. Haught," the principal, Mrs. Mallory said as she shook their hands. 

"What happened with Levi?" Nicole asked abruptly. "Why would he knock over the fish tank?" 

"We're not sure," she said, leading them both into her office where Levi was patiently sitting in the chair in front of her desk. "We tried to ask him, but we couldn't get anything out of him." 

"Levi? Buddy, what happened today?" Waverly said softly, kneeling to his height. 

"I knocked over a fish tank," he said monotoned, looking straight out the window. 

"Yeah? Why's that?" Nicole asked, gently running her fingers through his soft, brown hair. 

"It was making bubbling noises, so I knocked it over." 

Waverly and Nicole looked at each other with worry in their eyes. 

"It's just the filter, bud. It makes sure that the water is clean so the fish can swim around happily," Waverly said with a calm tone. 

"But it was loud. It got loud and I didn't like it anymore," he said, still avoiding eye contact. 

Waverly sighed and picked him up and stood up, grabbing his backpack and slinging it over her shoulder. 

"Ok, sweetie, it's ok," she said, placing a soft kiss to his forehead. He yawned and laid his head down on his shoulder. "We'll meet you in the car." 

Nicole sighed and watched them walk out and then turned to the principal. 

"I'm so sorry about that. He's been acting," Nicole paused, trying to find the right words. "He's been acting a little strange lately."

The principal nodded. "Mrs. Haught? Have you ever considered, getting a second opinion?"

Nicole quirked an eyebrow. "What do you mean?" 

"Well, I've heard from his teachers that there are some unusual things from him in the classroom. He's withdrawn, he avoids contact at all times, and there have been multiple times where he's thrown a fit over green blocks? I don't know if that rings any bells, but I think it would help get a second opinion. His behavior, unfortunately, it isn't normal," she said. She opened a drawer and grabbed out a business card.

"Dr. O'Brien," she said, handing it to her. "The best behavioral specialist in all of Calgary. He's very tough to get in and see."

Nicole looked up with furrowed eyebrows. Why would she even bother if he's hard to get an appointment with?" 

"But, he just so happens to be my brother. I can call and put in a word if you'd like, tell him to expect a call from you, of course, if that's what you want," Mrs. Mallory said, sitting down at her desk. 

Nicole nodded. "I'd- we'd appreciate that, thank you." 

Mrs. Mallory nodded, and Nicole gave a forced smile before walking out quickly. She didn't want to have this conversation. She loved her family, she loved her family so much, and she couldn't stand the thought of something being wrong with one of them. 

Nicole got in the car, Levi was asleep in his car seat, and Waverly was on her phone. 

"Here," she said, handing Waverly the card. 

"What's this?"

"A doctor, a behavioral doctor. The principal gave it to me. They have been noting his weird behavior too," she said starting the car. "And he happens to be her brother and she said that she could call on our behalf. I said yes." 

"What?" Waverly exclaimed. "You can't just do that, Nicole!" 

"Shh!" Nicole whispered. "Don't wake him up," she said, looking back at Levi who was still sound asleep. "I'm sorry, but we need answers. Something isn't right with Waverly. You're the smartest person I know; I know you've noticed it, too." 

"But Nicole, we have a schedule to stick to! I don't exactly work normal hours since I became pregnant. We can't just make a last minute appointment." 

"I know, Waverly. I haven't called and made the appointment," Nicole said, irritation lacing throughout her voice and her knuckles become whiter as gripped the steering wheel harder.

"Don't snap at me, Nicole," Waverly snapped, glaring at her wife who was starting to get on her nerves. 

"I'm not snapping at you; I'm just saying I haven't done anything yet but have her call him. He's the best in Calgary and hard to get an appointment with," Nicole said calmly. "She's just going to tell him to expect a call from us and not screen us when and if we do call." 

"Fine," Waverly said, staring angrily out the window.

"It'll be ok, Wave," Nicole said in a softer tone, placing her hand on Waverly's thigh. She looked over at her wife, who you could tell was just full of emotions. She glanced back up and saw that the light turned green, so she kept her eyes on the road.

"We'll figure this out, together. I love you, and I'm going to be here for you and the kids no matter hard it seems to get," Nicole said sincerely, giving Waverly's thigh a gentle squeeze. 

Waverly sighed and placed her hand over Nicole's. "I know. I'm sorry for snapping. It's just been rough, y' know? Having to excuse ourselves when he starts acting out or deal with the stares at the grocery store, or worse try to make an excuse to a stranger who can't mind their damn business. I'm just really tired, Nicole." 

Nicole didn't answer as she pulled into their driveway. She turned off the car before turning to Waverly. She leaned over and gently caressed Waverly's cheek, brushing away a single tear that was rolling down her cheek. 

"Waverly Earp, you are the strongest and most stubborn person I've ever come across. I know things are tough right now, but I promise it's going to get better and I know for a fact that you're not a quitter. You have so much fight in you Waverly. I love you," Nicole said softly. "I love you with everything I've got and then some." 

Waverly kissed Nicole's palm before leaning in and giving her a proper kiss, a slow and snotty one. 

"I love you, too. And thank you, for always calming me down," Waverly said, giving a faint smile. 

Nicole smiled and gave Waverly a chaste kiss on the forehead before getting out of the car to put Levi down for a nap. 

 

"Thank you again," Waverly said, wrapping her arms around Nicole's waist from behind. 

"For?" Nicole said with a chuckle. She set down the folded t-shirt she was putting away and turned around to properly face Waverly, wrapping her arms around Waverly and pulling her close. 

"For everything. You do everything for this family, and I've done nothing but bitch and moan about everything. And I"m sorry about that, you deserve better," Waverly said, ducking her head to avoid eye contact. 

Nicole shook her head in disbelief. "Waverly, what are you talking about?" 

Waverly shrugged. "I don't know, I've just been kinda an ass lately." 

"No, no Waverly," Nicole said, pulling away and looking at Waverly. 

"Please look at me," she said. 

Waverly looked up, and Nicole could see the pain in her eyes, the guilt. That's when she knew; she had been neglecting Waverly and their marriage, and yet somehow Waverly was taking the blame for it. 

"No, Waverly.  _You_ deserve better; I've been so wrapped up with the kids that I've completely pushed you aside. Please don't feel guilty; I understand that you've been upset lately. I haven't made time for us. I'm so sorry," Nicole said with conviction, looking for any sign of relief that would wash over Waverly. 

"Can we like, have a night to ourselves? Like a date?" Waverly asked softly. 

"Of course we can, my love," Nicole said, pulling Waverly into a hug. "I'd love to take you on a date." She broke their hug and instead gently cupped her wife's face in her hands and pulled Waverly onto her tippy toes and into a sweet kiss. 

They stayed like that for a while, hugging and sharing a few kisses here and there. 

Truth be told, they hadn't made time for their relationship. It's just been work and the kids. Nicole felt terrible, and she was going to make sure that this date was the best they've been on in a while. 

 

***

 

"So, where are we going tonight?" Waverly asked while sitting down at her desk across from Nicole. 

Nicole shook her head and grinned. "I'm not telling you." 

"Nicole," Waverly whined. 

"Mhm," Nicole said, shaking her head no again. "You're not going to get it out of me." 

Waverly rolled her eyes. "At least tell me what to wear." 

Nicole looked up at her before finally deciding to let her have this one.

"Wear something casual, we're going to be outdoors most of tonight," she said, returning to answering emails.

"You're seriously not going to tell me?" Waverly whined, trying to get more out of her wife. 

"Nope."

Waverly sighed and went back to filling out some police reports. She knew that she wasn't going to get anything out of her, so she gave up. 

Nicole looked up at her wife and smiled, smiled at how cute her little pout was. She wanted to tell Wavery where they were going, but she wanted to keep it a surprise. She wanted to see Waverly's eyes light up. She missed her wife and she couldn't wait for tonight. 

 

***

 

"Waves?" Nicole called out, her voice reverberating through the hallway. 

"In here," she said from the nursery.

"We should get going, love," Nicole said as she walked into the nursery. "Oh." 

Waverly was currently breastfeeding Hazel why the rest of the kids were downstairs eating dinner. They decided just to order a pizza while before they dropped them off at Wynonna's. 

"I know, I'm sorry," Waverly said, gently tapping Hazel's bum in hopes to speed up the process. 

"It's ok, baby. We can wait," Nicole said happily, walking over and kissing her wife on the cheek. 

They had stopped daily breastfeeding a month or two back, but a few times a week she'd breastfeed for convenience. 

"I'd wait all day for our little girl," she said lovingly, wrapped her arms around Waverly's waist and resting her chin on her shoulder from behind, admiring their daughter as she sucked on Waverly's breast. 

"She should be done soon," Waverly said softly. "Are you going to tell me where we're going?"

Nicole lifted her head and pulled away from Waverly, her heart dropped a little, and she already missed her wife's touch. 

"You'll find out," she said, walking over and putting away some onesies sitting on the dresser. 

"Are we done, sweet girl?" Waverly said, putting her bra back on and shirt down. She grabbed burping cloth and threw it over her shoulder before burping Hazel. 

Nicole smiled while watching her wife interact with her daughter. Waverly was so good with her; she was meant to be a mother. 

" _Nicole said_ _I could pick the movie tonight!"_ Levi yelled from downstairs. 

" _Yeah, guess what? I don't care, now move,"_ Spencer yelled back.

" _Stop!_ _"_

Nicole sighed. "I'll take care of it." She quickly walked out of the room and down the stairs, hoping that she could settle this quickly. But she knew she wasn't when she saw Levi and Spencer wrestling over the TV remote. 

"Hey! Knock it off!" Nicole exclaimed, pulling Levi off of Spencer. It wasn't easy; she had to release his grip from the remote physically. 

"No! Stop! Put me down!" he screamed. 

"Stop screaming," Nicole chastised, keeping her voice level but threatening. 

"No!" he screamed again. He started squirming in Nicole's arms, attempting to get out of her grip. 

"Levi!" she bellowed. 

Levi finally got the message, and he quieted down and stopped squirming.

"Now, tell me what happened," she said, calming her tone. 

They both started talking over each other, beginning to give Nicole a headache. 

"One at a time," she scolded, setting Levi down on the couch. 

"I wanted to watch 'The Incredibles,' but Spencer stole the remote and put on her stupid doctor show!" Levi blurted. 

"It's called 'Grey's Anatomy stupid. And how many freaking times do you have to watch that stupid movie," Spencer snapped back.    

"Watch it," Nicole warned, glaring at Spencer. 

"How many times have you watched that show?! A lot! It's all you watched back in the trailer!" 

"Levi, stop screaming," she lectured. 

"You said I could watch a movie," he whined. "And then she took the remote." 

"Why don't you two find a movie you both want to watch," she said. She knew they would probably disagree, but it was worth a shot. 

Spencer snorted. "Yeah, there's no way in hell I'm watching some stupid kids movie." 

"Alright, fine," Nicole said, bending down and snatching the remote. "No one will be watching a movie." 

"Hey!" They both exclaimed at the same time. 

"You can't just do that!" Spencer complained.

"Don't push it, Spencer," she said sternly. "Why are you guys even turning on the TV? I told you we'd be leaving after dinner."

"Yeah, well we finished a while ago, and we're still here," she said sarcastically. "We got bored." 

"Well you won't be bored now," Nicole said, putting the remote back on the coffee table. "Go pack up your things; we're going to be having a little sleepover at Wynonna's." 

"We're?" Spencer asked. 

"Yes, Waverly and I are going out for the night and after we'll be joining you. And you'll love, Wynonna. She's just like you," Nicole said. 

"Ohh, is this date night," Spencer said with a quirked eyebrow. 

"Just go get ready you two. And help your brother if he needs help," she said exasperatedly. "You get your TV privileges back when you finish your homework."

"I did finish it," Spencer lied. 

Nicole gave her a look, knowing she didn't even start. 

"Fine," she mumbled, getting off the couch. 

"Thank you," Nicole said as Waverly came down the stairs, both babies in their car seats. 

"Everything ok?" she asked. 

"Yes, I got there just in time," Nicole answered with a sigh. She took Hazel from Waverly, so she had less to carry. Both babies were now happily sucking on their pacifiers, watching their moms move about the house. 

"God, you're so annoying," Spencer complained as she and Levi walked down the stairs with their backpacks. 

"Well, you are, too!" he yelled back. 

"Oh wow, I'm so hurt," Spencer mocked. She rolled her eyes and pushed Levi's head back with her hand. 

"Spencer, be gentle with your brother, please?" Waverly asked, hoping they could stop fighting so they wouldn't be too much trouble for Wynonna. 

"Yeah whatever," she said, rolling her eyes once again. "You guys are annoying, too," she mumbled under her breath. 

Both Nicole and Waverly decided to ignore that comment. 

"Ready?" Nicole asked Waverly, holding out her hand for her wife. 

"Ready." Waverly smiled and intertwined their hands as they both walked out the door, Nicole locking the door behind him. 

The drive to Wynonna's was reasonably calm, a few snickers here and there from Spencer. But Levi was preoccupied with his LeapFrog. Waverly kept trying to get Nicole to tell her where they were going, but she wouldn't budge. So Waverly was going to have to wait until they got there. 

"You sure you're ok with this, Wynonna?" Waverly asked, handing off the babies to her sister while Spencer and Levi barged into her home. They had gotten there just on time, 6:30 to be exact. Nicole had planned on being out until about 11 or 12. 

"Yeah, of course, you and Haughtstuff have fun, I got this," Wynonna said happily, setting down the car seats next to her and hugging her sister. 

"But you have five kids to watch, that's a lot," Waverly said. It wasn't that she didn't trust her sister, well, she did and she didn't. She knew that she was a great aunt and loved them all, but watching five kids was a handful and she was the only one at the house. 

"Relax, Doc will be home in about an hour; I think I can handle it. And besides, the babies are going to be asleep soon anyway, and we're just eat a bunch of snacks and watch movies ."

"Yeah, Waves. It's ok, Wynonna's got this," Nicole said, gently tugging on Waverly's hand. She was eager to have some alone time with her wife and act like two lovestruck teenagers together, just like when they first started dating. 

"But-"

"No, babygirl. We're going to have a lot of fun with Auntie Wynonna, right kids?" she called over her back. Instead of an actual answer, she just got one groan and two enthusiastic "yes' " from the toddlers.

"See?" Wynonna said with a dopey smile. "I totally got this. Have fun with Nicole and use protection."

Waverly rolled her eyes and gave her sister one last hug. "Thanks, Wynonna."

"Anytime, babygirl, now go have fun," Wynonna said, walking back into her house. 

"C' mon, love. We're going to have fun, I promise," Nicole said, putting her hand on the back of Waverly's back while they both walked to the car, opening the door for Waverly. 

They had been on the road for a little over 10 minutes, and Nicole still wouldn't tell her where they were going. 

"Um, a museum?" Waverly guessed. She had been speculating ever since they got in the car, she was anxious to find out where they were going. 

Nicole laughed. "Wow, Waves. Don't you know me at all? I hate museums." It was true; she thought they were boring. There was one and only one time where they went to a museum together and they got kicked out because Nicole stuck a piece of gum in a statues buttcrack. She was trying to get Waverly to laugh and try to get something out of it besides useless Ancient Greece facts. Long story short a security guard escorted them out, and Waverly was pissed and refused to do anything or talk to her for the rest of the night. 

"Ok, um, dinner?"

"No, you already guessed that."

"Nicole," Waverly whined. "Can you please just tell me where we're going?"

"You'll found out in about five minutes," Nicole said with a smirk. 

And about five minutes later they pulled into what looked like a fair parking lot.

"The county fair?" Waverly asked, raising an eyebrow. 

"Yeah, do you hate it?" Nicole asked nervously. She was starting to kick herself internally. Why did she think it was a good idea to bring Waverly to the fair? It was messy, and loud, and smelled like manure, what a stupid idea. 

"What? No, I love it!" Waverly beamed with excitement. "I haven't been to the fair in years. I think the last time I was here was when we were dating." Her eyes lit up just like Nicole was hoping for, and it made her heart swell. 

It was true, Nicole had brought them to the county fair a few months after they had made it official. But the more serious their relationship got the more serious the curse got. So they didn't have time to do things outside of Purgatory, let alone outside of the station or the homestead. 

A wave of relief washed over Nicole; she wanted their date night to be perfect especially since they didn't get them very often. 

"Well then what are we waiting for?" Nicole asked happily, watching the biggest grin appear across her wife's face. 

She was also admiring her wife's outfit, she somehow had the best taste when it came to fashion. She was currently wearing denim, ripped shorts, a dark grey tank top, converse, and she had her wife's red, plaid flannel tied around her waist and it just so happened to be Waverly's favorite flannel. And the only jewelry she was sporting was her wedding rings and a necklace, the necklace that Nicole had gotten her when they found out she was pregnant.

Nicole, on the other hand, was something pretty different. She was wearing black, ripped skinny jeans, a cute white t-shirt, vans, and was just only wearing her wedding rings. 

They walked hand in hand, to pay for admission, get wristbands so they could ride all the rides, and to get fried dough. They also made sure to stop and get fried Oreos, which were Nicole's favorite. 

They let their minds forget about their lives and lived in the moment, enjoying each other's company and kissing whenever they could. Their hands barely left each other's side, whether they were holding hands or wrapping their arms around each other's waist. They both felt like teenagers again, so wrapped up in each other that they couldn't care less about what was going on around them. They shared laughs and kisses, and an occasional mini-makeout session while they waited in line.

They needed this night, just a night to themselves, away from Purgatory without the kids. They could eat as much cotton candy and fried food as they wanted and Nicole ended up getting powdered sugar on Waverly's nose, which just added to their laughter. They rode as many rides as they wanted to and Nicole played as many fair games as she wanted and won Waverly that big unicorn stuffed animal she was eyeing. The last ride that they didn't get on yet was the Ferris Wheel. 

"After you," Nicole said, holding open the gondola door for Waverly. 

Waverly smiled and blushed and stepped in first, placing her stuffed unicorn on the seat across from her. 

Nicole followed and sat down next to Waverly, wrapping her arm around her and pulling her close. And Waverly just melted right into her embrace, closing her eyes and breathing in that intoxicating vanilla scent that always seemed to calm her down. Nicole placed a soft kiss to her head. 

"I missed you," Nicole said quietly. 

"I missed you, too," Waverly said sleepily against Nicole's shoulder. 

"I'm sorry, Waverly. I'm sorry that I haven't made time for us and that I totally pushed you aside. You're absolutely everything to me and I could never do this without you," Nicole said with such conviction she thought her heart was going to jump out of her chest.

Waverly lifted her head from Nicole's shoulder and looked her in her eyes. Her soft, hazel eyes that always made her lose her train of thought, eyes that she got lost in every day. 

"And you won't have to. Nicole, you will  _never_ have to do this alone." Waverly gently cupped Nicole's face in her hands and kissed her softly. 

Nicole pulled away to wipe a tear threatening to fall from her face. "How are your hands always so damn soft?" she chortled and sniffled. 

"You know me, I put lotion on every night before bed," Waverly said with a grin. 

And it was true since Nicole had met Waverly, there hadn't been one night where she hadn't put on lotion. Even when they went on vacation she made sure to bring lotion. 

"I know thank you will never be enough. But I'm going to say it anyway. Thank you for taking in three more kids with me and loving them like our own. And Waverly they love you so much. They're so lucky to have you,  _I'm_ lucky to have you," Nicole said softly, gently stroking Waverly's hand with the pad of her thumb. 

"Nicole, I love you. I'm always going to support our family, I love them, Nicole. I love them so much," Waverly said, breaking eye contact and looking past Nicole. "They're really special kids and they've truly made my life a hundred times better. They've made me a better person, a better mother." 

"I love you, Waves," Nicole stated with a slight smile. "I love seeing you interact with all four kids. You are so good with them, Waverly. You were meant to be a mother. And when I say they love you, I mean it. Waverly, they love you, even Spencer. I mean you got her to open up to you the other day, that's real progress. You got a teenager, a teenager to open up to you. Do you know how hard that is? Waves, you have a connection with these kids and they have a connection with you. I can see just myself how much you love them. And they love you too, Waverly. You were meant to do this."  

Waverly wiped a tear and sighed, looking down at the palm of her hands. She knew exactly where Nicole was going and she wasn't sure if she was ready to talk about it. If she was being honest with herself she was scared to talk about it, it terrified her. 

"I'm scared, Nicole," she said with a shaky and quiet voice. 

"I know, Waverly," Nicole said, cupping her wife's face gently in her hands. 

"No, no," Waverly said louder, brushing off Nicole's hands. "You don't know, Nicole. I know we both had rough childhoods, but you made up with your mom and she left on good terms. My mom came back and then left again, leaving nothing but a note. And I didn't exactly have a great mother or father figure growing up. I had my drunk, abusive father, my abusive sister, and my other sister who was in juvenile detention half of my childhood. These kids have been through hell and back, I don't want to bring them into our house permanently just to let them down. What if we get cursed again? Or someone tries to rip our family apart, take me away from you? From our kids? They don't deserve that, Nicole. They deserve a family who's stable, who doesn't have a fucked up past. I don't deserve them." 

Waverly wiped her eyes and buried her head in her hands, trying to keep her cool considering they were still on a Ferris Wheel. A Ferris Wheel ride that was going to end soon and they both were hot messes. 

"Oh, my love," Nicole said, putting her hand on Waverly's thigh, slowly rubbing her hand up and down trying to comfort her as much as possible. "You are such a great mother and yes, you didn't have a great parent figure growing up, but look where you are now. You have three daughters and a son, three of which you've only known for a few months. But you've gotten so far with them. Levi openly prefers you to hold him, but I'm ok with that. He'll only eat fruit that you cut up and he prefers to cuddle up to your side if he has a nightmare. And Spencer, I mean, you got her to open up to you, what kind of parent can say that their teenage daughter opened up to them. And our two babies, Waverly, you have a connection with them that I will never understand. And don't even try to stop me when I'm on a roll," she said, seeing Waverly's mouth open and stopping her before she could protest. 

"I wish, I wish so much that I could have kids, but you could. You were able to create our miracle baby and both her and Ferryn love you so, so much. How many times have you and only you been able to get Hazel  _or_ Ferryn back to sleep? Sometimes Hazel will only bottle feed when you feed her and Ferryn loves to tug on your hair, not mine, but yours. Waverly, the curse is over nothing overly paranormal has happened in this town since the curse was broken. And Waverly Earp, you are absolutely nothing like your mother. I've never seen a mother love their children as much as you have and I never had a great mother figure growing up and-"

"Yo, ladies," the operator said at the platform. "Time is up, get off."

Nicole looked back at Waverly, who had calmed down a bit and she wasn't crying anymore but her eyes were red and puffy. 

Waverly sniffled and grabbed her stuffed unicorn and Nicole's hand. 

"C' mon, Nicole. Let's just go home," she said quietly, stepping out, Nicole following behind. 

Nicole sighed and cursed to herself, angry that the ride didn't last any longer. She had so much she wanted to say in such little time. But she followed Waverly and caught up with her, she attempted to hold hands with her but Waverly brushed her off and shoved her hands into her pockets. 

"Waverly," Nicole said, her voice threatening to crack. 

"Nicole, please, I just want to go home and have this stupid sleepover," Waverly grumbled as they exited the county fair and walked into the parking lot. 

Nicole decided to just leave it alone, hoping that maybe she would feel like talking about it later. So it ended up being a silent, tension-filled car ride back to Wynonna's. 

Waverly knew her wife had the best intentions, but she just wasn't ready to talk about it, not yet, not anytime soon. 

"Hey, how was it?" Wynonna asked, getting off of the couch. 

Waverly ignored her sister's question. "I'm going to bed," she grumbled, heading towards the guest bedroom, which was now technically their bedroom. 

Wynonna furrowed her eyebrows. "What was that about?"

"I brought up the kids," Nicole said quietly, running her fingers through her hair in frustration.

"Did you bring up, y' know," Wynonna said, turning back towards the kids and then back towards Nicole. "Adopting them?" she said quietly.

"Not in so many words, not directly."

"Well, what happened?" Wynonna asked, taking a sip of whiskey from the glass that was in her hand. 

"I don't know. We were on the Ferris Wheel and we got to talking, things were going well, she was listening to me and it seemed like she was actually starting to believe what I had to say, but then the ride ended and when we got off she refused to talk to me about it. I tried, but she kept brushing me off," Nicole rubbed her temples, wishing that she and Waverly could be talking like they were not even twenty minutes ago. 

Wynonna nodded and handed Nicole a glass of whiskey, which she declined.

"Give it time, she's not ready to talk about it, yet," she said, hoping to calm down her sister in law.

"I know, Wynonna. But that worries me, I'm afraid that she'll never be ready to talk about it. I can tell she wants to desperately bring these kids into our homes permanently and let her be vulnerable for our family, but she's scared. And I'm scared that she'll never want to talk about it and they will get taken away," she said, looking back at the kids. "I love them so much. They're my kids our kids. Blood or not, blood doesn't even make a family. Love does and I love them like they were our own. They're a part of our family." 

Wynonna nodded again, not really sure what to say. She didn't realize how serious Nicole was about adopting them, but it was clear as day now. Nicole loved them and there was no way in hell she was letting them get taken away. 

"Then go talk to her, just keep talking even if she tells you not too. She'll hear you, even if it doesn't feel like it," Wynonna said, patting Nicole's shoulder, encouraging her to get up there right now and get Waverly to talk. 

Nicole nodded and got up and headed upstairs. She opened the bedroom door to find Waverly sitting on the bed and crying. 

"Waverly," Nicole whimpered, her heart broke at the sight. "Waverly, please listen to me," she said, sitting next to her and wrapping her arms around her. 

"I love you, so much. And I never got to finish what I was saying back at the fair. So let me finish," she loosened her grip around Waverly and gently placed two fingers under her chin and pulling her head up, looking her in the eyes. 

"You are nothing like your mother and if I had a mother like you growing up I would've been the luckiest girl in the world with an amazing mother. Our kids are lucky to have you and I know that you would never leave our family. You love them too much. God forbid you ever leave me, I know that you never leave those kids. The curse is over and no one is going to take you or me away from the kids or each other. And if for some odd reason in the very distant future something does try to break apart this family, we'll find a way through it, together. I'm never leaving your side, I'm always going to be here. I'm always going to love you, even if for some reason you fall out of love with me, I'm always going to love you." Nicole said with conviction. She exhaled, hoping the lump in her throat would go away. She was hoping Waverly heard her, everything she said was completely true. 

"Nicole, I know you would never leave. And I hope you know I would never leave you either. I love you so fucking much, I would die if you weren't here anymore. You're the other half of my heart and without you, I can't function. And I trust everything you're saying. I know that nothing will probably happen, but I'm still worried. I don't want to make it official just to have something go wrong and break the kid's hearts. I can't do that to them, I love them too much," Waverly said, wiping tears that were rolling down her cheeks. 

"Waverly, you are a great mom and I can clearly see that they love you and I think that they would agree that you're a great mom. Parenthood is rough and nothing is certain, but I want to do it all with you. And we're going to make mistakes, but we wouldn't be doing it right if there were no mistakes. I want to do this with you and I know you're going to be an amazing mom to our four kids. And it's ok to be nervous, nerves mean you care. And you care so much, Waverly." 

Nicole wiped the tears from Waverly's cheek and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead, waiting for an answer. And a slow and painful minute later, she got one. 

"Ok," Waverly squeaked, almost inaudible if you weren't directly next to her. 

"Ok?" Nicole said with a smile forming across her face. She was hoping that her high pitched, enthusiastic voice wouldn't stab her in the back. 

"Ok. I believe you," Waverly said, pulling back from Nicole and wiping her last few remaining tears. 

"So, does that mean?" Nicole was hoping to not get too far ahead of herself.

"I don't know. But I feel a whole lot better about it," Waverly said, looking into Nicole's eyes. "Can we finish this later? Maybe like, the morning?"

"Of course we can, baby," Nicole pulled Waverly into a big hug and then kissed her passionately. "I love you, Waverly. And you're never alone in this. You're my wife and my best friend and an absolutely amazing mom. You can do this, I know you can."

Waverly smiled and buried her head into Nicole's chest, leaning on her and bringing them both crashing down on the bed. "I married the right person," she said with a giggle.

"Damn right, you did," Nicole said proudly, which made Waverly laugh even more. "But I married the love of my life, which was the best decision I've ever made."

Nicole didn't exactly get the answer she wanted, but she got somewhere. She got really far with Waverly and everything she said was true. Waverly was the best mom she had ever come across. And she loved her more than words could ever say. She knew Waverly was scared and she understood that, but she also understood that Waverly was too good at this to doubt herself. She loved her and she loved their kids. She loved her family and was hoping that she could convince Waverly just a bit more that she was meant to be their kid's permanent mother, just like she was meant to be her wife. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> does this 'lovey-dovey' stuff happen in real life? if so i need some asap   
> get ready for the next chapter, a lot is going to happen! 
> 
> and sorry if this chapter lowkey sucks, i got tired and lazy but i tried my best :)


	32. Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Basically a family chapter, no big problems or anything like that. Just some a bit more fluff with the teeniest bit of angst. Idk I'm trying here people. But we finally get some answers from Waverly. 
> 
> This chapter basically wrote itself so I hope you enjoy because the next chapter isn't going to be so fluffy. It's also a short chapter, but still good, I think? 
> 
> Please read the notes at the bottom, it's important :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> also, i know i wrote that Hazel already turned 6 months, but *technically* she should be 6 months since now she was born in December. and it's not like i wrote much about her age so that wouldn't impact the storyline anyway. but basically i fucked up literally all the dates and all that so just roll with it, she's 6 months right now. so yeah. fun! however everyone else's age and stuff is still the same. sorry to do that to ya folks but i'm not a very planned out writer what can i say.

It was the next morning and Waverly woke up to an empty bed and a lot of chatter going on downstairs. She sat up and looked around the room and didn't find Nicole. So she threw on a sweatshirt and headed downstairs. 

She walked in on the kids eating pancakes and bacon while watching morning television, her wife, Wynonna, and Doc all in the kitchen laughing over a cup of coffee. Her eyes were still puffy from the night before, but her heart was happy. 

"Mhm," Nicole said while taking a sip of her coffee before setting it down on the counter. "Morning, Waves." Nicole gently wrapped her arms around Waverly's waist and gave her a chaste kiss before letting her go. 

"Morning everyone," she said happily, heading for the coffee pot and pouring herself a cup. 

"So, how was date night?" Wynonna asked with a smirk. "Ow!" she exclaimed, rubbing the spot where Nicole had elbowed her. 

Nicole glared at her and whispered, " _Shut up_."

"It was a lot of fun," Waverly said, turning around and taking a sip of coffee. "I felt young again like I didn't have four kids. I mean don't get me wrong I love them, but sometimes it's nice to have a night to ourselves."

"Well, I believe it's time for us to have a date night then," Doc said smiling at Wynonna. 

"Yeah, we're overdue," Wynonna said with a grin. "I mean, when was the last time we had sex? I mean mindblowing, amazing-" 

"Aghh, shut up!" Waverly said, immediately setting down her coffee mug and covering her ears with her hand. "I really don't want to hear that."

"Babygirl, how many times have I walked in on you and Haughtshit doin' the dirties?" Wynonna said rolling her eyes. 

"One too many if you ask me," Nicole said, rubbing her temples. "How did you sleep?" she asked, wrapping her arm around Waverly's waist. 

"Good, although I missed our morning cuddle session," she said with a pouty smile.

"I'm sorry, love," Nicole said, placing a soft kiss to Waverly's head. "We may have less sex now but I do really enjoy cuddling with you." 

And it was true, since having their daughter and then adding three more meant less time for their relationship let alone sex. But they didn't mind, their Friday nights didn't end in sex but ended up tucking the kids into bed well into the night because they were up late watching movies. But oddly, they wouldn't have it any other way. 

"It's ok. But I'm expecting you make up for it in some way," Waverly said with a wink, followed by a smile. 

"Will do, Mrs. Earp," Nicole said, leaning in a kissing her softly on the lips. 

"Alright, seriously you two," Wynonna said throwing a piece of bread at them. "Enough. What did you have in mind for us to do today?" 

Nicole broke their gaze but not before giving her one last kiss. "Jeremy and Robin have officially moved into their new place and invited us over for a pool party. So that's what we're going to be doing today." 

"Nice, I cook a mean barbecue," Doc said happily.

"What time are we supposed to be over there?" Wynonna asked.

"Noon," Nicole said. "We have a few hours."

"Well, I guess to have to rummage through my drawers to try and find a bikini," Wynonna said, finishing the last of her coffee before dumping the rest down the sink.

"C' mon, Waverly," Nicole said, taking her hand in hers. "I have to take a shower and I'd like for you to join." She winked seductively.

"Oh, is this the way you're going to make it up to me?" Waverly said quietly, biting her lip as Nicole led them upstairs. 

"One of them," she said, squeezing Waverly's hand. 

Normally they'd feel bad for having sex in someone's house, but Wynonna had walked in on them countless times, it didn't matter to them anymore. The only thing they really had to worry about now was the kids. But they were too occupied with the TV, so now was really the perfect time for a quickie. 

 

***

 

"So, how are things going with the kids?" Robin asked while taking a sip of his beer while simultaneously flipping burgers on the grill. 

"They're going well. I think, uh," Nicole paused and looked over at Waverly, who was tanning by the pool with Chrissy but was currently helping Levi into his swim floaties. "I think we might be thinking of adopting them." She knew what she was saying was risky since those words never actually said in front of one another, but it felt right to her. 

"Wow, really?! That's great!" he said happily, pulling her into a hug. "Those kids really love you."

"Thank you," she said. "But nothing is set in stone yet, I mean it's just kinda been up in the air, nothing has been actually talked about yet."

"Either way," he said, pulling away and looking her in the eye. "You guys are great mothers to those kids. They really love you and you really love them, it's obvious. I think you guys were meant to do this." 

"Thanks, Robin," Nicole said with a smile. She took another sip of her beer and looked back at the kids. Spencer was tanning while on her phone, Levi and Alice were playing in the pool, Hazel was upstairs taking a nap and Ferryn was in Waverly's lap, napping and sucking on a pacifier. The rest of them were swimming and playing with the kids and music playing in the background. It was your typical suburban family pool party, minus the fact that they lived in a demon attracted town and one of their family members was a hundred something-year-old vampire. But other than that, totally normal. 

"Honey?" Waverly called out just a few feet from her. 

"Yes, my love?" Nicole answered with a smile. 

"Can you get Hazel?" she said, holding up the baby monitor that was going off with Hazel's cries. 

"Of course." She took one last sip of her beer before setting it on the table and walking over to get the baby monitor.

"You should wear _just_ a bikini top more often, Mrs. Haught," Waverly said with a wink. 

"Ha, aren't you a charmer," Nicole said dreamily. She bent down and gave her wife a chaste kiss on the lips and being careful not to wake the sleeping baby in her arms. 

She walked into Jeremy and Robin's new house and upstairs to get her crying daughter. They bought a really nice Craftsman-style house and they even set up an extra room as a nursery. They said, for now, it was for Nicole and Waverly's babies but in the future, it would be for theirs. 

"Hi, sweet girl," Nicole cooed, bending down and picking up Hazel, who was writhing and crying in her arms. "Did you have a good nap?" 

She brought her close to her chest and bounced her up and down gently. She placed soft kisses to her head, noticing the red wisps of hair growing on her soft, tiny head. Her crying stopped as her momma held her and covered in her kisses. 

"Let's go get you some lunch." She smiled as she walked downstairs and out to the pool. 

Waverly smiled as she watched her wife and daughter come back outside, them both smiling at each other while they walked over. 

"Hazey how did you sleep?" Waverly said happily as she carefully set down Ferryn in her Travel Play Pen and took Hazel from Nicole while she could set up the high chair. She placed a soft kiss to her head and placed her in her high chair and grabbed a bottle of baby food they brought from the cooler. 

Waverly got up and placed her in the high chair and took a seat at the picnic table. She opened the jar of green baby food while Nicole put her bib on and she started to happily fed her, trying not to stain her bib too much. 

Nicole watched as her wife fed their daughter and her stomach was doing flips. Her wife was so good with their kids and she knew that they were a perfect family for those three kids. Now the only thing she had to do was convince her wife that everything would be ok and even if it didn't turn out the way they planned, everything would still be ok. 

"Nicole!" Alice's high pitched voice called out. 

"Yes, baby?" Nicole asked, turning around and walking toward the edge of the pool. 

"Come play with us! We're playing Sharks and Minnows!" Levi exclaimed excitedly, wiggling his body in the water.

"Yeah, c' mon Red Haught. It's actually more fun than I thought it would be," Wynonna said, walking over to the edge of the pool and taking a sip of beer.

"It's the only physical activity I can do where I win," Jeremy said proudly.

"Well you're a limp piece of lettuce otherwise," Wynonna quipped.

"Ah, she's just kidding," Doc said, patting Jeremy on the back. Maybe patting him a little too hard considered he winced in pain after.

"Oh, I know," he said. "I know you love me, Wynonna."

Wynonna rolled her eyes and huffed. "Yeah, over my dead body."

"C' mon Auntie 'Cole! You too, Auntie Wave and Auntie Chrissy!" Alice exclaimed. Nicole worried if her voice got any higher with enthusiasm she'd break a glass. 

"I'll be in soon, babe!" Chrissy said, taking off her straw hat and sunglasses. "I gotta pee," she mumbled scurrying to the sliding glass doors. 

"Let me take care of Hazel and I'll be in," Waverly said followed by a smile. 

Nicole took off her shorts and flip flops and cannonballed in, making sure it would splash every, specifically Wynonna. 

"Dude! What the hell?! I told you I didn't want my hair wet," she whined. 

Nicole resurfaced, water falling off her face while she wiped the rest from her eyes and slicked her red hair back. "Oh please, it was bound to happen."

"C' mon Nicole!" Alice said, starting at the other end with Doc while the rest stood in the middle. 

"Ok, show me what you got kid!" Nicole yelled. 

She watched as they both kicked with all their might, their little legs doing the best they could. She was surprised at how good Alice was at swimming, especially for being four years old. 

When they finally reached then Nicole pretended to be duped by four-year-olds and let them pass. But at the last minute, she swooped them up from behind and threw them up a few inches in the air. 

When they both surfaced they both erupted in high pitched giggles, laughing even harder when Nicole did it again. 

Waverly would be lying to herself if it didn't turn her on that Nicole could simultaneously lift 40 something pound toddlers. And not to mention she was amazing with them. Nicole said that Waverly had a special bond with them, but so did Nicole. They loved her, too and she loved them. To the naked eye, you wouldn't be able to tell that Nicole wasn't their biological mother. 

"Foods ready!" Robin exclaimed, setting down a platter of burgers and hot dogs on the picnic table. "Let me just go get that quinoa salad for you, Waverly."

Waverly smiled. "Thank you, Robin."

Everyone from the pool grabbed their towels and took off their floaties and sat down at the picnic table. They all enjoyed the food that Robin grilled and the pasta and potato salad that Jeremy had made. And Waverly was really enjoying the quinoa salad that they had made also. They were all just enjoying each other's company, sharing light conversations and a few laughs here and there. It was nice, Nicole and Waverly forgot about everything that was going on with Levi for a little while. And it was really helpful that he wasn't having any more outburst, not yet anyway.

"So, have you talked with Waverly?" Chrissy asked Nicole, taking off her sunglasses. Waverly was currently inside helping clean up. 

Nicole nodded and set down her beer. "Yes, sorta. I mean, we didn't actually talk about it directly or bring up the words 'adoption' but we got somewhere. She said she loves them, but she's scared that she's going to fail them." She sighed and shook her head. "I've done everything I can, I keep telling her that I'm never going to leave, that all our four kids love her. I tell her she's a great mother, which she is. God, she is such an amazing mom, Chrissy. She is so, so good with them and they really love her," she said, her voice getting breathier the more she talked. She swallowed, hoping to get rid of the lump forming in her throat. 

"Yet, no matter what I seem to tell her she won't believe me. I don't know what to do," she said, wiping a tear that fell from her eye. 

"I wish I could be more helpful," Chrissy said after a long pause. "I know it's not what you want to here, but just give it time. She'll realize it too, with time. And I know it sucks, but you got her to talk about it, something she wouldn't have done just weeks ago. So yes, you are getting somewhere. Slowly but surely."

Nicole nodded and sighed. She wished that she could just take the pain away, but taking away years worth of pain wasn't going to happen in an instant. If it did the world would have no problems or conflicts. But unfortunately, it just wasn't the way it worked. 

 

"I know what's going on with Levi," Spencer mumbled, walking up behind Waverly in the kitchen and setting down her plate. 

Waverly turned around and raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Oh please, I know he's been acting out and his behavior isn't 'normal.' I heard all about it, you guys aren't exactly quiet talkers and the walls are thin," she said, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms. 

"Spencer," Waverly said, putting down the plate and green scrubby and wiping her hands with the dish towel. "I'm sorry that you had to find out like that," she said quietly, walking over to the island where Spencer was sitting and leaning her hands on it.

"Yeah, I'm sure you are," she said sarcastically, rolling her eyes again. "Why do you have to treat me like a little kid? I turn 16 in two months and since being tossed around from home to home you learn to grow up. I'm not an average teenager. There were nights my parents got so drunk or so high I had to take care of Levi myself. Bathe him, brush his teeth, get him ready for bed. I was a parent at fucking 11." 

"Spencer, please, language," Waverly said with a calm tone, trying not to provoke Spencer's angry mood any further. 

"I may be 16 but I have the street smarts of a 30-year-old. I'm not normal, Waverly. I'll never be normal, I've had to grow up because no one else would do it for me. And if I didn't, someone would get hurt. And I wouldn't let that happen, not to my brother," Spencer said, her eyes starting to water. She could feel herself getting so angry she could cry. 

"My brother and my sister are the only things I have left now," she said, pointing towards the screen door where they were playing in the sandbox. "So please, if there's something wrong with either of them, don't keep it from me. I can handle it, I'm old enough. I've been handling it since I was 10."

"You're right," Waverly said keeping a level tone. "I'm sorry that we treated you like you couldn't handle it. It's obvious you can," she said, giving a small smile.

"Look, if you're going to send us back, just do it now before they get more attached to you guys than they are already," she said angrily. 

"Spencer, we would never, ever send you back unless we had to. And never just because things get hard. Life is hard, life sucks sometimes, but I've had my fair share of a shitty life, too. So I know how you feel and knowing that I had a safe, loving and stable home when I was your age would've changed my life. So no, we are not and will not send you guys back. And please know, that they aren't the only ones you have. We're all here for you, Spencer. Myself, Nicole, Wynonna, everyone at this party is always and will always be here for you. Spencer, we love you, we always will love you. You came into our home and became a part of this family."

Spencer tried her best to look angry despite the tear rolling down her cheek. 

"What, are you thinking of adopting us?" Spencer asked. She wanted it to seem like she was trying to pick a fight, but she was really fishing for answers. She'd never admit it, but she loved them too and she desperately wanted a family. And this was the best family she's come across thus far. 

Waverly paused and didn't know how to answer. Were they thinking about it? I mean it seemed like it last night, but they never came to an actual, conclusive answer. 

"Whew, I think I've had one too many beers," Nicole said as she walked inside. She saw Spencer sitting at the island, visibly angry and wiping her face.

Nicole furrowed her brows in confusion as Spencer stormed past her. 

"What was that about?" she asked, looking back towards her angrily opening the sliding glass doors.

"Um," Waverly said, feeling her voice starting to shake. She set down the kitchen towel and crossed her arms. 

"She, um, she apparently knows what's going on with Levi and got angry because we didn't keep her in the loop," Waverly started pacing back and forth, staring at the ground. "And then, then she asked if we were going to adopt her. And I didn't know what to say, I mean I stood there like an idiot with my mouth open and now she thinks we're going to send her back. I mean what kinda mother does that? Nicole, who-"

"Whoa, Waverly," Nicole said, placing her hands on her wife's shoulders, stilling her movements. "Slow down." 

Waverly sighed and buried her head in her hands. "She asked us if we were going to adopt them, Nicole. I mean she asked it sarcastically but she still asked. And I didn't have an answer I stood there like an idiot. I mean, do we? Do we want to adopt them? I mean, I didn't have an answer for her. She thought we were going to send them back Nicole, they need clarity. We're uncertain so they're uncertain. What do we do?"

Nicole inhaled and gently moved Waverly's hands from her face and looked her in the eyes. 

"I love you, Waverly. And I love our kids, but I'm not going to do anything until I know what you're thinking. And I think you know what I'm thinking," Nicole said quietly, wiping a tear from Waverly's face. 

Waverly thought long and hard. She knew in her heart of hearts that she wanted to adopt them, but something was holding her back. 

"I don't want to fail them again. I don't want to make them a permanently a part of this family just to fail them. They've already had enough of that," she said, her voice cracking. 

"Waverly, we're going to fail them. As parents, we're going to fail them. It's just a part of life. If we don't fail them every once and a while we're not doing it right. However, if we were failed them 24/7 we'd be bad parents. But we're not, we're good parents, Waverly. And you and I both have had shitty parents and I know that you know we're not shitty parents. We're not perfect, but I think we're doing a damn good job. We love them and they love us, it's obvious. I mean, that's what everyone is telling me and I believe them," Nicole said with conviction, looking Waverly directly in the eye. 

"But what if we have some huge, colossal fail that we can never get back from?" Waverly looked back up at Nicole with such pain her eyes that Nicole's heart shattered. 

"Then we figure a way to get through it. And Waverly, I'm never going to leave your side, no matter how hard or shitty things seem to get. I'm always going to be here. We thought that the curse was never something we would get back from, yet we did. We did it, Waverly, together." She looked outside to see the rest of her family playing in the pool with the kids. 

"And if you're not strong enough, I'll be strong for the both of us. And if we're not strong enough, we have a pretty amazing family to fall back on. We're not alone, Waverly. We have people, people that love us and people that aren't leaving," Nicole said, gently stroking Waverly's cheek with the pad of her thumb. 

"I don't want to be my mother," Waverly said quietly, wiping another tear. 

"And you're not. You are absolutely nothing like your mother. You're here and you don't take no for an answer. You're an amazing mom, Waverly. I love you and they love you." Nicole was going to keep repeating that last sentence to get Waverly to believe it. No matter how many times it took, she would keep repeating it. 

Nicole pulled her into a big hug and held her tight, pressing soft kisses on top of Waverly's head. "I'm never leaving your side, Waverly Earp. You're my one and only, my best friend. I love you so much."

There was a small silence before someone said something. 

"There's still so much to talk about," Waverly said, pulling away from Nicole and wiping her eyes, composing herself. 

"I agree," Nicole said calmly. 

"Like finances, their father, other family members. And we aren't exactly a 'traditional' household. I mean, we're two women who want to adopt them, with a supernatural, demonic, messed up past. I know you don't exactly, 'save up' for a child, but realistically, can we afford three more kids? I mean, insurance is going to go through the roof, Spencer turns 16 soon which means she should be getting her permit and then her license, which also means the car insurance is going to go through the roof. If there is something wrong with Levi, doctor bills are going to go through the roof. I love them, Nicole, but I don't want to bring them into our home permanently just to put us on the street," Waverly said, moving the hair from her eyes. 

"I agree," Nicole said again. "I completely agree. There are a lot of things to talk about and consider. And yes, who knows where this doctor's appointment is going to take us with Levi. But their dad did say that they deserved a loving home right? That home could be ours?" 

Waverly sighed and shook her head. "I don't know," she said exasperatedly. 

"Yo! We're about to start a game of basketball. Nicole, you're the best basketball player out of all of us," Wynonna said, sticking her head into the house by the sliding glass door. 

Waverly raised her eyebrow and glared at her.

"And Waves you are an excellent cheerleader," Wynonna complimented, hoping that would be enough to save her ass. 

"Seriously you two. You can have sex when you get home. This is the last thing we'll probably be doing anyway, all the kids are overdue for a nap," Wynonna said. "So wrap it up and get your asses out here," she said before aggressively sliding the door shut. 

"Nicole, we keep saying we need to talk about it and we never do. We seriously need to start talking about it," Waverly said with a serious tone, looking her in the eye. 

"As soon as possible," Nicole said, leaning in and kissing her on the lips. "I love you. And by the way, you're the strongest woman I know," she whispered, giving her one last kiss before heading out to the back doors. 

Waverly was right, there were so many factors to consider and adoption is so much for complicated than just signing a bunch of papers. She was scared at the thought of adopting them. She desperately wanted to, but she didn't want to fail those kids. She couldn't put them through that again. She had a feeling there was going to be a lot of talking before the word 'adoption' even came up again.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Important note- I would just like get this out there :)  
> There are some that want Waverly and Nicole to have a little 'break' and such all their problems or want more angst or less angst etc. And don't get me wrong, I love all your suggestions and I get where you’re coming from. However I just want you guys to know, I'm treating this fic like I'm writing for a tv show, which sounds whack. But tv shows have a lot of drama and angst, non-stop drama and angst. that's not to say that it won't have its fluffy moments, there will be plenty of those. I'm trying to write this as realistic as possible, even though all this drama isn't realistic, which does seem a bit counterintuitive; minus me messing up birthdays. But just letting everyone know that that's probably how the rest of the fic is going to go. Trust me, I'm all for the fluffy fics and all that, I love reading them. But I'm more into writing real things, real family problems that go on in the real world. I think it's important to make people aware of it since it's not really shown in the media like I've said before I'm putting a little of 'The Foster's' twist on this series. But I'm not solely basing it off of that TV show. Trust me I love Wearp but me writing about the whole supernatural trope just isn't me and I know that I wouldn't enjoy writing or reading it. But I truly do love reading your opinions and suggestions but if this type of writing style/fic isn't what you're looking for then I apologize and hope that you find whatever you're looking for in another fic. And I know I can't please everyone, but I'm just getting this out there now. But other than that, I appreciate and love you all dearly :) You guy's motivate me to write and I seriously enjoy doing this now, so thank you, thank you so much <3 
> 
> and by the way, i'm just going to be taking a step back to just reevaluate some stuff because i feel like i just need to go over it and fix some things in the storyline and/or my writing. so the next chapter probably won't be up for a while.


	33. A Night Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I said this chapter was going to be super angst but I lied, I don't have the energy to write it so this chapter is literally just Wynonna and drunk Nicole. And two hangovers also Waverly has a surprise. And I don't really care if it's not the right time for another surprise because that's life and life doesn't always work out in our favor. 
> 
> Anyways I hope you enjoy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this took so long to get up. To be honest I haven't been in the mood to write and I've been way to busy. Also, this chapter kinda sucks ngl. I can't promise when the next chapter will be up but I can promise it'll be up. And hopefully, it'll suck less. Anyway's I love you guys and thank you for the endless support and nice comments :)

"Do I have to do this?" Nicole asked as she threw on a cotton crewneck dark grey t-shirt, she was also wearing light wash, ripped denim jeans, Keds, and her hair was pulled back. 

"Yes," Waverly said as she emerged from the bathroom. "You look cute." She smiled at her wife. 

"Don't," Nicole whined. "Don't try and be nice to me to make me feel better. I'm tired and hungry, and I don't want to go."

Waverly looked down to hide the smiled forming on her face. 

"It's just Wynonna," she said, walking up to Nicole and wrapping her arms around Nicole's waist. "You've known her for how long?" 

Nicole rolled her eyes. "I'm tired, I had a long day at work. I just want to stay here, curled up on the couch with you and the kids watching 'Finding Nemo' for the millionth time."

"Aw, my poor baby," Waverly cooed as she leaned in closer. "You're going," she said firmly. She stood on her tippy toes and gave Nicole a chaste kiss on her lips. 

Nicole groaned and flopped onto the bed and grabbed a pillow and buried her face it in. "This sucks," she said, the sound muffled by the pillow. 

" _Hey, Wynonna,"_ Spencer said from downstairs, barely audible through their closed bedroom door. 

"C' mon Nicole," Waverly said, opening the door and walking towards the stairs. "Let's go!" she called out over her shoulder. 

Nicole sighed for the hundredth time and got up and slowly opened the door and walked downstairs. 

"Hi, Wynonna," Nicole said, wincing and forcing a smile. 

"Wow, Haught, don't look so excited to see me," Wynonna said, putting Hazel down back in her Pack 'n Play. 

"What are you talking about? I'm super excited," Nicole said through her teeth.

"Yeah, that's the truth like you're straight," Wynonna said sarcastically. 

"Ooh," Spencer said with a grin, acknowledging Wynonna's snarky comment. "Torched," she quipped, her and Wynonna high fiving. 

Nicole rolled her eyes and Waverly stifled a laugh. 

"Let's just go, I've had a long day and honestly some booze doesn't sound that bad right now," Nicole mumbled. 

"Have fun you two!" Waverly said enthusiastically, kissing Nicole on the cheek. "I love you and please, try to be nice."

"I will if she will," Nicole groaned. 

"After you, grumpy pants," Wynonna said, holding open the door to the front porch. 

Nicole glared at her before walking out and getting into Wynonna's blue truck. She loved her sister-in-law, but there were days when she didn't feel like dealing with Wynonna's sarcastic comments, or anyone else but her wife and kids for that matter. 

~~

 

"Haught, maybe you should stop hitting the tequila shots," Wynonna said, banking the eight ball into the corner pocket for the second game in a row. "You suck at this."

"Yeah, whatever," Nicole slurred, clearly drunk. She downed another shot of tequila and then took a sip of her beer. "It's 'cause I'm drunk, just wait 'til I'm sober," she said, pointing her stick at Wynonna and waving it in the air. "Let's go again." 

Wynonna sucked her teeth and sighed, also taking a sip of her beer. "Alright, Haught. But don't complain when I whoop your ass again."

Nicole scoffed. "Not gon' happen, there Earp. I am an excellent pool player."

Wynonna racked the pool balls, making sure the eight ball was in the center of the rack. She decided to break the pool first since Nicole was already hitting another shot. She easily sent a solid ball into the right corner pocket on her first shot. 

"Pfft, luck," Nicole mumbled, leaning against the pool table and leaning her chin on the cue stick. 

Wynonna ignored her, sending two more balls into the corner and middle pockets, but missing the third. 

"Easy," she quipped, opening another beer. 

Nicole stumbled over to a solid ball and didn't even bother to aim correctly and sent it flying, flying out of the table and onto the ground that is. 

"Oops," Nicole said a dumb smile forming across her face. She started laughing uncontrollably while simultaneously downing another shot from a server. Wynonna was watching her cautiously in case she choked her drink while laughing. 

While Nicole was busy hysterically laughing Miley Cryus' "Party in the USA" came on. Her eyes went wide and jaw dropped. 

"Oh my gosh, I love this song!" she said, setting down her shot glass and rushing towards the speaker. She started dancing and unevenly swaying her hips and singing along out of pitch, it was not a pretty sight, to say the least.

"How many has she had to drink?" Gus asked from behind the bar where Wynonna was painfully watching. 

"One too many," she said, taking a sip of what seemed to be her fifth beer. "This is painful to watch."

"Whoo! I love being American!!!" Nicole shouted, throwing her hands up in the air and giggling like a little girl.

"Go, stop that, please. She's sheriff and she does a reputation to keep, especially in this small town," Gus said, pointing over to Nicole before returning to wiping down the bar. 

Wynonna groaned and got up and quickly walked over to Nicole, already feeling eyes on her back. 

"Dude, will you stop?" she said, gently punching Nicole in the arm. "People are staring at you and they're not going to take you seriously as sheriff after watching your train wreck of a performance. And you're not even American, you're Canadian. _Ca-na-di-an,_ " she said, dragging out her syllables. 

"I'm having fun, Wynonna, loosen up," Nicole said, rubbing the spot where Wynonna punched her. "Just listen to the music, feel the beat," she said slowly, her words even more slurred now. She threw her arms up in the air once again and started swaying back and forth. 

Wynonna rolled her eyes and shook her head in embarrassment, people where staring as they walked by and people sitting down were glancing over. 

"We still have a pool game to finish and you have yet to beat me," Wynonna said, pointing to their unfinished pool game. 

"Oh yeah!" she said, marching right over to the table and grabbing her cue stick. She bent down and tried to aim for an orange stripe ball, but lined it up a few inches to the left and laughed when she missed and the stick went flying. 

"God, you're a stupid drunk," Wynonna mumbled, finishing another beer and heading over to beat Nic ole for the third time. 

As the night went on, Nicole and Wynonna got drunker and drunker. Wynonna's beers turned into whiskey and tequila shorts. It went from pool to both dancing stupidly and singing off-key together. It was rounding almost midnight and they both had work tomorrow, including Waverly.

"Hey, Gus," Waverly said, from behind the bar.

"Hey sweetie," Gus said with a smile, handing a beer to a patron. 

"How many have they had to drink?" Waverly asked, watching them both slow dance together, each losing their balance every few minutes. 

"A lot. It's getting late, so that's why I called you. I don't want them getting into an accident."

Waverly sighed and knew that tomorrow she'd hear a lot of moaning and groaning about their hangovers. 

"What about the kids?" Gus asked. 

"Oh they're asleep and Spencer is hibernated on the couch with a giant bowl of popcorn and a 'Grey's Anatomy' marathon," Waverly said with a smile. "I trust her, she's a good kid. And besides, she hasn't gotten up from that couch since dinner." 

Gus smiled. "You better get going then. I love you, sweetie." 

Waverly gave her aunt a kiss on the cheek before heading over to her drunk sister and wife. 

"Alright, you're getting a little close there, Wynonna," Waverly said, walking up to the both of them. 

"Waverly!" they both said simultaneously, both laughing after they said it. 

"What are you doin' here?" Wynonna asked, taking another shot. 

"Gus called and said you two are super drunk, so she asked if I could bring you guys home," Waverly said. 

"What? We're not drunk," Nicole protested, walking back over to the pool table. She grabbed the stick and aimed for a ball, but before she could shoot she was bending over the trash can throwing up. Wynonna was laughing the entire time. 

"Ok," she said standing back up. "Maybe I'm a lil' drunk." 

 

Waverly stifled a laugh and helped Nicole to sit down. 

"I'm going to see if Gus needs anything and then we'll head out," Waverly said, squeezing her shoulder before heading off to the bar where Gus was. 

"Dude!" Nicole said, to Wynonna who was taking a seat next to her. "Your sister is like, _super_ hot like I mean," she started holding out her arms and making a circular motion, trying to emphasize boobs. "Damn I'd hit that. But she's probably taken, the pretty ones are always taken," she said longingly, staring at Waverly who was talking to her aunt. 

"Yeah dude, she's taken," Wynonna slurred, pulling Nicole's tail. 

"Darn it," Nicole pouted and slouching her shoulders. "Who is she dating? I'll find them and beat them up," she said, sounding as threatening as a puppy. 

Wynonna giggled and motioned for Nicole to come closer with her hand.  

"What?" Nicole said, getting closer to Wynonna's face. "Whaat?"

"She's married," Wynonna said, still giggling. "To you!" She started to laugh uncontrollably

"No way! I married her?! How?" Nicole asked in total disbelief. She looked down at her hands looking for a ring. 

"Look at that! We are married," Nicole said, holding up her left hand and pointing at her ring. 

"Gus is all set, so we're good to go," Waverly said with a smile, letting Wynonna and Nicole walk in front of her. 

Nicole got up from her seat and stumbled, almost falling on her face. But Waverly caught her and helped her back to her feet. 

"Oh, sweetie," Waverly cooed, wrapping her arm around Nicole and walking her out of the bar, making sure she didn't trip on anything on her way out. "How much did you have to drink?"

"I dunno," Nicole slurred, her eyes already closing by the time they were in the parking lot. "A lot." 

"Tomorrow morning is not going to welcome you with open arms," Waverly said, unlocking the car and letting Wynonna who walked ahead to get in first but not before yelling at her to get in the back. 

"I love you, Waverly. You're the best wife ever," Nicole said with a small chuckle, her face turning serious after. "Did you know you're my wife? I got the prettiest girl in the world to marry me!" she said giddily, causing Waverly to laugh and swoon at the same time. 

"Buckle your seat belt and try not to throw up in my car," she said with a chuckle, placing a soft kiss to Nicole's forehead. 

The car ride back was quiet, Wynonna and Nicole passed out on the way home. Waverly felt bad to wake her so texted Doc and said she could stay with them until the morning.

It was kinda a workout to get them into the house. When Wynonna was tired and drunk, it was hell trying to get her to do anything. She wasn't even that drunk but refused to do anything as she continued to try and sleep as Waverly tried to get them both in the house. But thankfully Spencer was already in bed so she didn't have to witness this because it wasn't a pretty sight.

As Waverly was walking them both upstairs, Nicole stumbled over her own feet and fell onto the couch.

"Mm, comfy," she mumbled, grabbed a pillow and curling up into a ball.

Waverly groaned and walked over to her wife.

"No!" she whispered. "Get up, you're not sleeping here." She grabbed her wife's arms and wrapped it around her neck and then wrapped her own arm around her waist and attempted to get her up and to her feet, but Nicole was passed out. All while she was trying to get Nicole up, Wynonna slipped from her arm and onto the floor, giggling like an idiot the whole time. 

"Hehe, I fell," Wynonna chortled with a stupid smile.

"Oh my God, no, get up the both of you!" Waverly whisper yelled. She bent down and tugged on both of their arms, but they didn't budge. In fact, Nicole was already passed out and Wynonna was tightly holding onto a pillow that fell from the couch. Waverly stepped back and just decided it was best to let them sleep there, she didn't have the energy to attempt to bring them both upstairs.

"Whatever, they'll be fine down here," Waverly mumbled. She sighed and walked upstairs, just wanting to get to bed.

She headed for the bathroom and threw on some boxers and a t-shirt and proceeded to get ready for bed. She had to admit though she did miss her wife sleeping next to her, the cold, drafty spot where Nicole should lay wasn't very inviting.

While she was getting ready she heard a few giggles coming from downstairs, but it stopped before she fell asleep. 

It was truly quite the sight, watching both her wife and sister try to do things when drunk, it could be quiet amusing actually. But trying to get them to get upstairs to bed, let alone stand up was quite the tiring task. But as long as they were both safe it didn't matter to Waverly how drunk they could get. 

 

~~

 

Nicole woke up to the sound of 'Paw Patrol' on TV and Levi sitting on the couch in front of her face, eating sugary cereal and intently watching the TV. She immediately felt her head pound. 

"Oh God," she mumbled, immediately burying her head back into the pillow, hoping the pounding in her head would stop. 

"Rise and shine!" Waverly said happily, setting a glass of water and Advil in front of her on the coffee table. 

"Please, not so loud," Nicole said quietly, slowly sitting up, her eyes slowly adjusting to the light, which made her headache worse. 

"Drink that whole glass, breakfast is ready in the kitchen by the way," Waverly said walking away. 

Nicole grabbed the glass and downed the Advil along with the rest of the water. She sat at the edge of the couch working up the courage to stand up and head into the kitchen. 

After a few minutes of sitting there, letting her head pound, she got up and stepped over Wynonna, who was still sleeping on the floor next to the couch. She headed into the kitchen and a cute little breakfast setup. There were a few flowers in a vase, a bowl with oatmeal and fruit, and a big glass of orange juice. 

"Wow," Nicole said, sitting down at the kitchen counter. "You really went all out."

"Yeah, I thought it might help with your hangover," Waverly said with a smile. 

"Pft, you look awful," Spencer said to Nicole as she walked into the kitchen. 

"Hey," Waverly chastised at Spencer. 

"What? It's the truth," she said, pouring herself a cup of coffee. 

Nicole glared at Spencer, letting her know that it wasn't nice of her to say that. 

"Whatever," Spencer mumbled under her breath, walking back into the living room with her coffee. 

"Mm, this is good Waves, thank you," Nicole said as she took a sip of her OJ. 

"Oh you're welcome, love," Waverly said, putting the last few dishes in the dishwasher. She finished the dishes and dried her hands with the dishtowel before she said something. 

"So I have some news," Waverly said calmly, turning around and resting her hands on the counter and leaning on them.

Nicole stopped eating and raised an eyebrow. "What? Is something wrong? Are you ok?" Her eyes got wider the more she spoke.

"No, no, I'm fine. I'm fine," Waverly said with a reassuring smile.

"Then what's up?" Nicole asked with an encouraging tone.

Waverly sighed. "So, a few months ago I applied to the University of Calgary."

"You what? When? When we had Hazel? Or when we had 3 more kids?" Nicole asked, very confused. She would be lying if she said she wasn't a little frustrated. She loved Waverly, but really questioned why she would do something big like apply to college when they had a million other things going on. 

"No, it was before we had 3 kids, but after Hazel. So I guess it was more than a few months ago," Waverly said, her heart slowly sinking. "I have been saving up for college forever. I started saving for an undergraduate degree for a while. Honestly, since I was 13 and started working in the bar."

"Undergraduate degree for what?" Nicole asked, putting down her spoon. 

Waverly sighed, scared to say what she wanted the degree for. "I want to be an elementary school teacher." 

Nicole slowly nodded, not really sure what to say. 

"It's been my dream to teach since I was a little girl. And I impulsively applied after we had Hazel. I know it wasn't smart but I was just getting tired of sitting home all day. And she'd be like a year old if or when I decided to go back to school," Waverly said softly. "And it would only be for one year. I started a two-year program and then Wynonna came back. And then things got, for a lack of better words, busy here and I had to drop out. But now I have a chance to finish it and get my degree." 

Nicole furrowed her eyebrows. "So you're going back to school in a year?" 

Waverly shook her head no. "No, they offered me a spot now," she said very quietly. "They said that someone dropped out specifically in Elementary Education, which would be my major. So a spot was open and they called me."

"Um," Nicole didn't really know what to say. It just was not the right time for Waverly to be driving almost an hour to Calgary and back. But she also would feel terrible if she was holding Waverly back from her dream. Her wife had so much potential and Nicole just couldn't keep her from that.

"I know, it's terrible timing. And I'm so sorry about that if I had known what the future would hold I wouldn't have applied," Waverly said pleadingly, hoping to get more than one-word answers from her wife. But the more silence that had past, the more Waverly had regret bringing it up. 

"I shouldn't have brought it up," Waverly said dimissevly as she went back to cleaning the kitchen. "It's kinda ridiculous to think that we could fit that into our crazy schedules. I can see if I can find something at the community college here. Or maybe online classes, or maybe I should just stay home and-"

"Whoa, Waverly," Nicole said, standing up and walking around the counter into the kitchen. "Take a breath." She placed her hands on Waverly's arms, stilling her movements. "Let's just think about this for a minute." She moved her arms from her arms to around her waist. Her head was still pounding and she was starting to feel nauseous, but it was more important right now to talk about this with her wife. 

Waverly nodded and avoided eye contact.

"Waves, look at me," Nicole said softly. 

Waverly hesitated for a second but looked up into Nicole's eyes, her soft, brown eyes that reminded her of chocolate. Her eye's that somehow made her world stop. Every. Time. 

"It's not completely out of the picture. We just need to find out more information, do you have any?" Nicole asked with a small smile. 

"Um. Well, classes would be almost every day, but not like a full college schedule, just a few classes a week to get my undergrad degree. I mean it's only for a year, not even a year a school year, so like eightish, months," Waverly said. "But as I said, I could take online classes at home."

"No," Nicole said shaking her head. "If we do this you're doing it properly to get the best education possible and become the greatest elementary school teacher ever," Nicole said in the nerdiest way. 

Waverly laughed. "You're impossible," she said with a smile. 

"Maybe, but I'm serious. I think maybe it could work if it's only for a few days a week. And I want you to follow your dream, I followed mine. I'm now Sherriff of the lovely, yet the slightly demonic town of Purgatory, married to an incredible woman and mother who I fall more and more in love with everyday. I got everything I've ever needed and more, I think it's time you get yours," Nicole said with conviction, intertwining their hands. 

"Really? You don't think it'll be too much on our plates?" Waverly asked, looking Nicole in the eye. 

"I think it'll be an adjustment, but I think we can do it," Nicole said with a smile. 

Waverly looked down to hide the huge smile forming across her face. "Thank you, Nicole. Thank you for being so supportive." 

"You deserve it. After everything, you deserve to do something for yourself." 

"Stop it!!" Levi screamed from the living room. 

"Dude just shut up you big baby!" Spencer snapped back.

"Ow," Nicole said, letting go of Waverly's hands and bringing them to her head, rubbing her temples. 

"I got it, baby. You enjoy your breakfast," Waverly said with a grin. She stood on her tippy toes and kissed Nicole on the cheek before heading to the living room and breaking up the fight starting between Levi and Spencer. 

Nicole smiled to herself and she watched Waverly calmly stop the arguing between Spencer and her little brother. She knew it wasn't great timing, but she couldn't let Waverly let this opportunity go. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After writing this I've decided we're going to take a small break from the whole adoption thing. So the next few chapters are going to be more family-oriented than adoption oriented. Ya know just nudging Waverly and Nicole... ;)


	34. Take A Seat Ms. Earp

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Waverly starts her first day of class and gets taught a lesson, multiple lessons. Also, Champ makes a reappearance! And Gus makes an appearance, too. There's a lot happening haha.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> y'all what the fuck even is this chapter. please don't hate me 😟

"Waverly you gotta get going or you're going to be late," Nicole said, popping her head into the bathroom. 

"Babe, I'm not feeling so good," Waverly said, walking past Nicole and sitting at the edge of their bed. 

"Yeah?" Nicole sensed Waverly trying to get out of going to her first day of class. 

"Yeah, my stomach hurts and I have a headache, I don't think I should go." Waverly closed her eyes and brought her hands to her head, trying to really hard to be dramatic when in reality she was just fine.

"Come here, let me feel your forehead," Nicole said, holding out her hand. She felt Waverly's forehead and felt that she was completely normal and she wasn't hot at all. 

"Oh yeah, you got a really bad case of 'I don't want to go to class-itis," Nicole mocked with a smile.

"Ugh, I don't want to go," Waverly said moaned. "I don't want to go, there I said it."

"Waves-"

"I think I'm just going to stay home. This wasn't a good idea. I can just get my degree online," Waverly said, flopping back onto the bed. 

"No, Waverly. It's too late to turn back now, plus we already paid for it," Nicole said, flopping onto the bed next to Waverly.

It fell silent for a few seconds. 

"You're going to crush your first day," Nicole said softly. "I know that you're nervous, but you're so smart, Waverly. You have nothing to worry about." 

"What if they judge me? College kids can be really judgy," Waverly said quietly. 

"There are adults there twice your age. You truly have nothing to worry about. No one is going to judge you, they're going to be too busy staring at you."

Waverly quirked an eyebrow. "Why would they stare at me?"

"Because you're so beautiful," Nicole said blatantly, staring up at the ceiling. "How could they not stop and stare?" 

Waverly couldn't help the smile forming on her face. She turned to her wife, who now turned to look at her. Nothing but love and encouragement were written on her face. 

"Thank you, Nicole," Waverly said, leaning over and giving her a kiss. "I love you." 

"I love you, too," Nicole said, getting up and heading towards the door. "And if they do judge you, tell them they can come and deal with me," she said, half-joking and half-serious. 

"We packed you a special lunch," Levi said happily, holding up Waverly's _Vera Bradley_ lunchbox. 

"Aw thank you, buddy," Waverly said with a smile, taking the lunchbox. She bent down and gave him a quick kiss on the nose before standing back up and going to get her keys on the key rack.

"You seriously have to get going, Waves. You're already late," Nicole said, holding open the door. 

Waverly took a big breath in before grabbing her keys. 

"Ok," she mumbled. She was just about to walk out the door when Nicole stopped her. 

"Waverly," Nicole called out, holding her hand out. 

"Yeah?" Waverly said, turning around. 

Nicole gently cupped Waverly's face and gave her a gentle yet passionate kiss. "I love you. You're going to have an absolutely amazing first day." 

Waverly couldn't help but blush. She smiled giddily and walked towards her car. She was extremely nervous but knew that this class would change things and change them for the better. 

 

 

***

 

"Spence, time to get up," Nicole said from the bedroom doorway, turning on the lights. 

Spencer groaned and threw the blankets over her head, attempting to keep the bright light from her eyes and continue to sleep. 

"It's almost 2 in the afternoon. The Corn and Pop Festival is just starting to get busy, so hop to it!" she called out as she walked back downstairs. 

Spencer shot her eyes open and looked toward the door. "The what festival?!" The first thought through her mind was that she did not want to go to some stupid festival. Especially with a stupid name like that. 

"Are we going to the festival!?" Levi asked happily, smiles from ear to ear. 

"Not today, buddy, tomorrow. We're going to drop your sister off there and gonna run some errands," Nicole said, giving Ferryn a quick snack of strawberries while waiting for Spencer. 

"What? But I want to go today!" Levi exclaimed, getting frustrated. 

"I'm sorry, Levi. We're going tomorrow, early in the morning so we'll have all day to have fun and eat a lot of cotton candy," Nicole said calmly, kneeling down to his level. 

"No! That's not fair!" Levi screamed, stomping his feet and starting to throw a fit. 

"Levi, hey!" Nicole grabbed him by the arms to keep him from flailing them everywhere. She knew that she had to calm him down before he went into a full-fledged meltdown. "Levi, I know you're upset about not going today, but kicking and screaming is not going to get you anywhere. You're not going to get what you want that way," she said while tears ran down his face.  

Levi glared at her and stopped wailing. He huffed and wriggled out of her arms and went and sat down on the floor near the coffee table and pouted. Nicole was pretty happy that she got him to calm down, considering it was really difficult to do so when he was having a tantrum. 

"God, you're so freakin' annoying," Spencer grumbled as she walked into the kitchen. "Now what festival are you talking about and why did you wake me up for it?" 

"The Corn and Pop Festival," Nicole said, standing up. "It's this Monday through Friday and I thought I could drop you off while we ran some errands. It's a good way for you to meet friends." 

Spencer rolled her eyes. "That's stupid. I'm not going to some lame festival."

"Sorry, Spencer. But it's either you go and get some fried dough or you come and run errands with us."

Spencer glared at her sighed. "How am I supposed to reach you if something goes wrong?"

"With this," Nicole said, handing her an old iPhone that they had. "I went to the city the other day and had it put back on our plan. I know it's not the X or XR or whatever, but it'll do. You're going to be staying here for a while and I want you to feel comfortable and like our family." 

Spencer stared down at the iPhone 7 in her hand. She'd never had a phone, not even a flip phone. The best thing anyone ever gave her in a foster home was some hand me down jeans. 

"Wow, this is uh," Spencer stuttered, unable to find the right words. 

"You don't have to say anything," Nicole said, satisfied with Spencer's happy and shocked reaction. 

"Thank you, Nicole," Spencer said sincerely, giving Nicole a quick hug. 

The hug caught Nicole by surprise but hugged her back. She was serious about wanting Spencer to feel like a part of this family, especially since she might very well officially become a part of this family. 

"You're welcome. Now go eat breakfast, we have to get going," Nicole said, watching Spencer sit down at the counter with a bowl of cereal already fascinated by her new phone. 

 

***

"Excuse me but who are you?" the professor asked.

Hearing her voice made Waverly immediately turn around. She was hoping to sneak by and take a seat without getting noticed, but she obviously wasn't stealthy enough.

"Um, Waverly Earp," she said quietly. 

"Ah yes," she said, walking to her desk and looking through her attendance records. "Ms. Earp, you're late," her professor said."Class started 15 minutes ago." 

"Yes, I'm sorry, Professor, I uh, got caught up in-" 

"I don't care for your personal life, Ms. Earp. Please take a seat and don't interrupt my class again," Professor O' Connor said sternly, turning back to the powerpoint behind her. 

Waverly put her head down and walked to her seat, sitting in the middle row of the lecture hall. Her cheeks were burning red and she was already extremely embarrassed. 

"Oof, not the best impression of yourself there, Earp. O' Connor is not one you want on your bad side," a young man said from behind, sitting one over. 

Waverly turned around and gave a friendly smile, not wanting to be rude but also not wanting to get in trouble again. 

"I'm Keegan," he said, holding out his hand. 

"Waverly," she said quietly, shaking his hand. 

"Are you finishing your degree?" he asked, pretty bluntly. 

"Oh," she said with a quiet chuckle. "Yes, I am. How did you know?"

"The ring," he said, holding up his left hand and using his thumb to point out the ring finger. "Kinda a dead give away. No one gets married in college and if they do, the rumors are already spread around the school before they have time to sign the papers. People are already making bets on how long it'll last." 

Waverly chuckled. "Well yes, I'm finishing my degree. I-"

"Ms. Earp, interrupting my class again," Professor O' Connor said, staring up at Waverly.

Waverly sunk to her seat and Keegan sat back and stared at the wall. 

"You're 0 for 2 right now, I suggest you face front and start listening to my lecture before it becomes 0 for 3. And Mr. Barrera, you cannot afford to fail this class. You've already been in this class longer than necessary. So I also suggest you stop chatting up our new student and start taking some notes. You haven't touched your laptop since you got here." She returned to her lesson but the rest of the students were still staring at Waverly. 

Waverly was even more embarrassed and just wanted to disappear. She was not the type to get in trouble in class, especially for talking. She was always meticulous with her work and made sure to take as many notes as she could. This was absolutely not the impression she wanted to make on her classmates or her professor.

 

***

 

"Do I have to go to this stupid festival?" Spencer asked.

"C' mon Spence, it's a good place to meet some new people. You've been cooped up in the house every day since you came to live with us. It's not good for you," Nicole pleaded. "It won't be for that long. I just have to run to the station and pick a few things up, then run to the store and get some baby stuff." 

Spencer rolled her eyes and sighed, part of her was anxious about being in a crowded place in a new town, not knowing who any of these people were. But at the same time, she was happy to get out of the house and eat some good food instead of Waverly's healthy vegan food. 

"I'll be back in about an hour, hour and a half. Here's forty bucks and please, call me if you need anything," Nicole said, parking in front of the festival entrance and dropping Spencer off. 

"I love- I uh, I'll see you in a few," Nicole awkwardly stuttered, which ended up stopping Spencer dead in her tracks. 

Nicole was mentally kicking herself for that screw-up. It wasn't that she didn't love Spencer, she did, she loved all her kids. It was just that she knew that Spencer wasn't ready for that and quite frankly Nicole wasn't ready for that either, she wasn't quite sure why she let that slip from her mouth. And she certainly didn't want to give Spencer another reason to try and push them away or start a fight with them. 

 "Yeah... whatever, see you later," Spencer said shutting the car door and walking towards the fair. 

Was it too soon to say I love you? Because she did, she loved Spencer. But they both never came to an actual answer about adoption, but something was telling Nicole that they both wanted to. But Nicole also knew that Waverly was scared, and rightfully so. She was scared that she was going to bring these kids into the same situation she was in when she was a little girl. The past was still constantly in her mind. Waverly would never admit this but every once and a while she'll jump at a loud bang or slammed doors. It was always going to be there, no matter how many times she said that she was fine. 

Nicole's thoughts were cut off by the sharp scream of Hazel in her car seat. Hazel wasn't a fan of the car seat and they could get only a few minutes of silence before she started to get upset and start crying. 

"Hazel," Nicole pleaded, glancing back in the rearview mirror. "It's ok, sweetie, we're almost at the station, we'll be there soon don't worry. 

"Hazel, shut up!" Levi exclaimed, looking up from his Dr. Suess book and glaring at her. 

"Levi, we don't tell people to shut up," Nicole said calmly but firmly. 

She sighed to herself while staring at the red light, already feeling a headache start to come on. It was only 500 feet until the station, could Hazel just not scream bloody murder for a few seconds, just a few?

Nicole quickly pulled into her designated Sherrif parking spot, it was a little sloppy and over the line, but she didn't care because she had a screaming baby in the back who was about to set off a frustrated four-year-old. 

"Ok, Hazey, it's ok, we're here, you can stop crying now," Nicole said a little exasperated. She quickly undid the car seat and set it on the pavement next to her. Hazel started to calm down, but she was still crying. 

Nicole was able to get Levi and Ferryn out of their car seats with no fuss. Ferryn was just starting to walk, so she set her on the ground and let her toddle towards the station, making sure to hold her hand. She had the car seat in the other hand and Levi was too distracted with his book about trains to care. Hazel was still crying but Nicole couldn't do anything until they actually got to her office.

"Hi, guys!" Jeremy said while walking back toward his office. 

"Jeremy!" Levi exclaimed, running up to him and jumping into his arms. 

"Oof, what's up buddy? What's your book about?" Jeremy said, stumbling backward, caught off guard by Levi. 

"Jeremy, could you do me a huge favor?" Nicole asked with a smile, looking down at Ferryn who was sucking on her fingers. It was quite adorable. 

"Of course," Jeremy said happily, bending down and picking her up too. "I thought you had today off?"

"I do," she said, picking up Hazel who's crying started to dissipate. "But Gus and a few others have made complaints about Champ. He's apparently been trashing Shorty's as well as being a little too physical with others." She gently rocked back and forth to calm Hazel down, which was working, her crying stopped and she was contently sucking on her pacifier. 

"Oh? I haven't heard anything?" Jeremy said, following Nicole into her office, both kids in his arms. 

"I told them to file a complaint and had Jackie leave them in my office," she said, switching arms so she could grab the file on her desk. 

"Didn't you make it like, a sacred rule that no one bothers you with work stuff on your days off unless it's an absolute emergency?" Jeremy asked, setting Levi down to continue looking through his book on the floor. 

"Yes, but I consider this an emergency since I kinda have a personal vendetta against him," she said, referring to him being Waverly's ex. "He treated my wife like shit the whole four years they were together and just generally has no respect for anyone. And while I can't actually do anything to him, because that would be actual jail time, I can catch him in the act of doing what he's best at; being an asshole."

Jeremy shook his head and stopped himself from smirking. "You're a good wife," she said quietly, trying to keep the corners of his mouth from forming into a smile. 

"Thank you," Nicole said sincerely while she looked through the files. "Five people made a complaint about him," she noted.

"What are you going to do about it?" Jeremy asked. 

"I'm going to hang around Shorty's a few nights," she said, looking over the papers. "People say he's mostly during happy hour, so I'll spend a few nights there, just scoping everything out before I actually do something. I don't want to falsely accuse him of doing something since people in this town really like to over exaggerate."

"Jer, can I have some apple juice?" Levi asked politely.

"Of course you can, you too Ferryn?" Jeremy asked.

Ferryn didn't really understand him, she was just starting to kinda understand what Nicole and Waverly were saying, so she just blankly stared at him while still sucking on her fingers.

"Sounds good to me," he said, giving her a quick kiss on the forehead. "We'll be back," she said to Nicole while walking out of her office.

Nicole was in the middle of looking through the last paper when her phone rang. She set down the file and pulled it out of her back pocket to see it was Waverly.

"Hey, baby what's up?" Nicole answered, holding to her ear with her shoulder while she went back to the file.

_"It's awful."_

"What's wrong?" Nicole asked, noticing the obvious anguish in her voice. She diverted her attention from Champ and the complaints to her wife. She put the file down and held the phone up with her hand.

_"I've already gotten in trouble twice. The first for being late and the other for introducing myself to another student here. My professor hates me and I've been told she's not someone you want on your bad sad. But I've already gotten on her bad side, Nicole I think I'm just going to come home."_

Nicole physically shook her head. "No, Waverly. What other classes do you have today?" 

_"History, which is a required course to become a history teacher. But like I said, I can just get my degree online."_

"No, Waves, I want to get the best education possible and you're going to a pretty great school. So no, online school isn't an option," Nicole said. A soft smile formed when she heard Waverly chortle on the other end. "Look, I know that the first day has been anything but ideal-"

_"Try total embarrassment, a living hell."_

"Waves, you've dealt with much worse. The curse, demons, having Wynonna as a sister?" 

 _"Hey!"_ Waverly chastised. 

"Kidding. Well kind of. Look the point is you're an incredibly strong and stubborn person. I know that one bad day at school isn't going to get the best of you. I know it's not. Go to your next class, make a hell of an impression on him or her. And if it's really that bad you don't have to go back. But I know that you can take this day, even if it hasn't been the best," Nicole said with conviction. 

Nicole heard Waverly sigh at the other end. 

_"Ok, you're right. This is nothing compared to the other stuff that's happened to us."_

There was a quick paused before she spoke again. 

_"I love you, sweetie. Thank you."_

~

"Your husband?" Keegan asked from behind Waverly. 

"Uh, my wife actually," she responded, a part of her cringing, anxiously awaiting his reaction since she told him she married a woman. 

"Oh," he said plainly, not really seeming to care. "Called to tell her about your awful first impression?"

Waverly rolled her eyes and couldn't help but crack a smile. "Please, it wasn't  _that_ bad." 

"Um, considering O' Connor is a total mannered, politeness, play by the rules type freak I'd say it was," she said with a smirk.

"Hey, watch it. I just so happen to be polite and play by the rules 'freak," she said, putting her phone in her pocket. 

He smiled. "What time does your next class start?" 

"Um," she glanced at her phone. "Not for another 30 minutes."

"What is it?"

"History with Professor," she glanced at her schedule sheet again. "Professor Aled." 

"Oh, he's chill, the total opposite of O' Connor. He's just at that building over there," he said, pointing to his left, a tall building that seemed to be a two-minute walk. 

"We got some time, I can show you around the main part of campus if you'd like?" he asked a little nervously. 

Waverly smiled. "Yeah, why not?"  

 

***

 

"Levi, please put the toy back, we're here for baby supplies and that's it. I have a lot of work to do when we get home," Nicole said, not wanting to fuel another tantrum. 

Levi pouted but put the toy back. Nicole didn't want him to sit there and stew, so she grabbed another book that was resting in Hazel's car seat. He happily accepted and forgot all about the toy.

"Ok, I got the diapers," Jeremy said, throwing them into the shopping cart. He had just finished up his work when they arrived and offered to help out. "Anything else?"

"No we're all set, we can head to check out," she said, pushing the shopping cart.

"You got your hands full there," the cashier said while scanning diapers and formula.

"Oh yeah, this isn't even all of them," Nicole said with an exasperated tone.

"Are you the husband?" she asked, pointing to Jeremy.

"Me?" he asked, pointing to himself. "Oh no." He shook his head. "Just a friend helping out another friend."

"Ah," the cashier said, ringing up their items. "That'll be 78.65."

Nicole handed her the credit card and went turned around to make sure the kids were in order. Jeremy was keeping Levi entertained, Ferryn was sitting in the stroller seat, curiously looking around. Nicole had to stop her from putting the seatbelt strap in her mouth and Hazel was sleeping in the carrier, her head laying on Nicole's chest.   

"Have a nice day," the cashier said with a smile. 

"You too," Nicole said, grabbing the receipt and card and heading towards the door, Jeremy following behind. 

They were both able to get them in their car seats with no fuss and Hazel didn't wake up while she was being put in her car seat, much to Nicole's relief. 

"Thank's again for helping out, Jeremy. I think it would've been a lot harder without you," Nicole said while dropping him back off at the station so he could drive home in his car. 

"No problem, anytime Nicole, really," he said sincerely. 

Nicole smiled and pulled away, wanting to put the kids down for their naps. All three were asleep in the back and Nicole had a lot of work to do. 

She got home quickly and put the kids to bed and immediately got to work. Going through complaint files and Champs' files and previous records. She really wanted to teach him a lesson on how to respect people, especially women. But she couldn't do that one, without getting in trouble and two, without doing some research. 

 

***

 

"So you've been together for 7 years, any kids?" Keegan asked, again very bluntly. 

"Wow, you're very straightforward," Waverly pointed out. 

"Oh yeah," he laughed nervously. "I've been told that I'm very direct. Sorry about that." He ran his fingers through his hair in embarrassment.

"Don't worry, it's actually kind of refreshing," Waverly reassured. "But to answer your question, we have four kids." 

"Wow four?" he asked in astonishment. "You had four kids in there?" He pointed to her stomach. 

"Well, I had one. The other three are our foster kids," she said. 

"I didn't know you fostered?" he asked. 

Waverly wrinkled her nose. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know, you just don't, don't really seem like," he paused, trying to find the right words. 

"What? Don't seem like the type to marry a woman and foster three amazing kids?" she snapped back defensively.

Keegan immediately shook his head no and his cheeks were flushed. "No, I didn't mean that at all. I don't really know what I mean, I'm sorry I don't really know why I said that." 

Waverly sighed. "I'm sorry for snapping and getting so defensive. Things have just been a little tense at home is all, I know what you meant and I didn't mean to be rude." 

Keegan gave a sympathetic smile. "It's ok. I get it. If you want to talk about it I'm all ears." 

Waverly stopped walking thought for a second, a long second. Should she even talk about this? It was something that was pretty private and was really only between her family, but at the same time knowing that she was allowed to talk to someone else besides her wife and sister was a nice feeling. She was human after all. 

"Uh, we've been seriously considering adopting them and I'm just having some doubt is all." Waverly stood there anxiously, waiting for his answer. 

"Like what? They graffiti the house, yet?" he asked as a joke.

Waverly forced a smile. "No, no not yet."

"Then what?"

"They've just been through a lot, way more than they should at their age and I just don't want to disappoint them," she said, avoiding eye contact. "The oldest, Spencer, she isn't exactly one to warm up to you quickly. I'm just scared that one day, it's just going to get too much and I'm going to run off, like my mother. Or worse, I'll end up abusive like my father. Everyone is constantly telling me that I'm nothing like them, but I grew up with it. It's always going to be there and you here are these kids being influenced by their parents, just snapping one day and ending up like that. I'm scared that's going to be me one day." 

Keegan nodded. 

"Shit, I'm sorry, that was way too much to just dump on you." 

"No it's ok, I offered anyway, right?" he said with a smile. "But for the record, people don't always turn out like their parents," he said. 

"How do you know?"

"Look at me for instance," he said, taking his hands out of his pockets. "My parents were druggies and alcoholics and my brother followed right along with them. I was abused by mother and her boyfriends and my father constantly beat me whenever he had a bad day. Yes, I was a bad kid with rage issues, but I told myself that I would never get involved with drugs or drink and I would  _never_ lay a hand on anyone. I know you see all this stuff in the media, but those people are not you," he said, pointing at her. 

"You might have grown up with shitty parents but that doesn't mean you're going to end up like them. Don't let your doubts dictate who you are or who you become." He cringed. "Cheesy, yes I know, but I don't know how else to word it without sound super cheesy." 

Waverly gave a weak smile, not sure what to think at this point. 

"Well, you must really love them if you're considering adopting. That isn't a decision people make on a whim."

Waverly shook her head. "We do, we love them. Nicole is all in, but," she took a big breath in and then exhaled it all out before continuing. "But I guess it's really just me holding her back, I love them and I love her. I love them so much that I'm afraid I'm just going to end up being another version of their half-assed mother figure." 

"That's not going to happen," Keegan said without hesitation. "I know I haven't known you for that long, but it's pretty freaking obvious that you'd do anything for your family. Am I wrong?"

"No," Waverly said shaking her head. "I would do anything for them," she said with conviction. "And I mean anything." 

"And from what you've said about Nicole it seems like an amazing partner. I think you're really lucky to have found someone who loves you and will support you no matter what. From my personal experience, being a part of a loving and supportive family who's just a little dysfunctional is better than being in a foster home feeling hopeless and knowing that you're never going to be adopted, thinking you're not worthy of love," he paused and looked over at Waverly, kicking himself for oversharing way too much. But Waverly was just studying the ground. 

"I guess you're right," Waverly mumbled.

"I am right," he said confidently. 

"What makes you so sure?" she asked with a small chuckle.

"Because I was a foster kid," he said quietly. 

"You were?" Waverly asked a little too quickly. This shocked Waverly, he didn't seem like a foster kid. But then again you can never judge a book by its cover. 

"Yeah, I was. So trust me when I say, a little bit of chaos and dysfunction will not scare them off," he smiled at her. "And it sounds like you really love them and quite truthfully that's all they're wanting, is to be loved and to be in a home where they feel safe." 

"Wow, I uh, I don't really know what to say," she smiled at him. "I guess I should just thank you, thank you for listening and giving some good advice." 

"Anytime," he said wholeheartedly. "I don't want more kids going through what I went through." 

"What uh, what did you go through?" she asked, but immediately went wide-eyed realizing how rude that was. "I'm sorry, you don't have to answer that if you don't want to, that was rude of me." 

"I never had one stable foster home, the longest one was like seven of eight months. I was a wreckless, stupid teenager, who did a lot of stupid things. I went to juvy a twice, I was in group homes, in and out of the police station with my parole officer. I was a really a bad kid," he said. 

Waverly didn't really know how to respond, she wanted to know more but also comfort him but also no overstep her boundaries. She was stuck. 

"That's ok, you don't have to say anything," he said, seeing the obvious hesitation in her eyes. "It's kinda a lot to take in, so it's ok." 

Waverly smiled sheepishly at him. "I'm sorry that you had to go through that, that's rough." 

"It was," he said, nodding his head. "But I got through it and I'm fine now, going to university, getting a degree in social work. I'm doing just fine. But I think things would be extremely different if someone took a chance on me took me in. Don't be scared, Waverly."

Waverly inhaled sharply before looking at him. She smiled warmly. "Thank you, that definitely helped eased my doubts. And you're right, I guess I gotta look at it in all perspectives." 

"You should probably get going if you don't want to be late for history," he said with a smile. 

"Oh right, don't want another O' Connor situation on our hands again," she said with a lighthearted laugh. "Keegan, thanks again, I really appreciate it." 

"Seriously, Waverly. Anytime. I'll see you around," he waved goodbye at her before walking away towards the cafeteria hall. 

 

***

 

"Hey, sweetie," Waverly said happily, bending over the couch and wrapping her arms around Nicole's shoulders from behind and kissing her cheek. 

"Oh, Waves, I didn't even hear you come in," Nicole said, leaning into her embrace. "Gus, Wynonna, and Spencer are out back, and our three little ones are taking a really late nap. Oh, and there are some leftovers in the fridge from lunch. Gus barbecued. We're all really full still so we haven't had dinner yet, but you can go ahead and eat if you'd like." 

"Thanks, baby. But I'm not that hungry," she walked around and sat next to Nicole. "Whatcha working on?"

"Uh, Champ Hardy actually." 

Waverly wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Why are you going through that asshat's file?" 

"Gus and some others said that he has been pretty disruptive and rowdy at Shorty's, as well as being physical with some people. There have just been a lot of complaints. So Gus asked me to check it out," Nicole said, putting the papers down and turning to Waverly so she had her full attention. 

"So, how was your first day of class?" she asked, smiling at her wife and moving a strand of hair from her face. "Did everyone stop and stare? Did anyone hit on you?" she asked, the last question more serious. 

"No, my love, no," Waverly said with a chuckle. She placed her hand on Nicole's thigh and squeezed gently. "No one hit on me."  _'But I did have a deep conversation with a total stranger about adopting those three lovely kids and I think I'm serious about adopting them but I don't know how to bring it up to you,'_ she thought to herself. 

"Good, they better not." Nicole opened her arms and Waverly fell into them, she wrapped her arms around Nicole's waist and held tightly. 

Waverly breathed in Nicole, the smell of vanilla that always calmed her down. "I missed you," she said quietly. 

"I missed you, too," she said. "What's up, baby?" 

"Nothing, I just,"  _'Really want to talk to you about this whole adoption thing but I'm scared but at the same time I want to grow our family.'_

"I just had a long, rough day. I was in serious need of a hug the whole day," Waverly lied. 

"Aw, Waves. I'm here now, hug away," she said warmly, placing a soft kiss to her head. 

"I'm serious go clean up, you're a mess, both of you," Gus said closing the sliding door behind her that led to the backyard. She marched Spencer and Wynonna, who were covered in mud, towards the stairs. Spencer and Wynonna were both laughing hysterically as they walked inside.  

Waverly sat back up and rubbed her eyes, she was really tired from that day. 

"What happened?" Waverly asked, amused. 

"Well, it started out as me waterin' the flowers. But then it ended up them two throwing mud and mulch at each other like a bunch of damn hooligans," Gus sighed. "Sorry to get the house all messy, ladies." 

Nicole shook her head and smiled, "It's fine, Gus, really." 

"Waverly, if don't mind helping me with the hose, I'm having some trouble coiling it back up in the hose rack," Gus asked, looking for one of them to get up. 

Nicole sighed and looked at her computer and paperwork in front of her. 

"I got it," Waverly said, letting Nicole get back to her work. 

"So darlin' what's up with you these days?" Gus asked, helping Waverly roll the hose it back up. 

"Not much," Waverly said, lying again. 

"Don't lie to me."

"I'm fine, Gus," Waverly said sternly. 

"Waverly, I've known you my whole life, I know somethin' is wrong. So we can either sit here and let the grass grow six feet tall or you can start tellin' me what's on your mind," Gus said standing up. 

Waverly sighed, for what seemed to be the hundredth time that day. 

"Is it over adopting the kids?" 

Waverly stared at her. "Nicole told me, well Nicole and Wynonna. They said you were havin' doubts." 

"Uh, I am," Waverly said quietly.

"Well, what are you havin' doubts about then?"

"Just not sure if we're exactly the right fit for them." 

"Don't lie to me, missy," Gus said, irritation lacing in her voice. 

"I'm not-"

"Waverly, I will not stand here to be made a fool of my self," Gus said harshly.

"I'm scared I'm going to end up like momma or daddy!" Waverly snapped. "I'm scared that these kids are going to go through what I went through. A fucked up mother who ends up leaving when things get too hard. They don't deserve that."  

 

"Did you leave when Nicole got bit by that witch and was in the hospital, fightin' for her life?" Gus crossed her arms. 

"No..."

"What about when you found out Nicole was married, did you throw in the towel?

"No..."

"Did you walk away when you miscarried?"

"No... where are you going with this?!" 

"Just one last question. Can you predict the future?"

"No."

"Exactly, you can't. You never walked away, even when you were goin' through the worst of it. Not when hen life just kept pushin' you back down to the ground. Waverly, you can't be goin' round, letting the past dictate your future. You're not 6 anymore, you know who you are. You've grown into an incredibly smart, loving mother and wife, you ain't nothin' like your momma or daddy. You can't go runnin' round, livin' life in fear. The future is unclear but that's what's best about it. You get to control it. These kids need a home and they may not have said it, but they love you," Gus lectured. "You got nothin' to worry about, you got me, your sister, your wife, and all your friends to fall back on. We're going to be here for you every step of the way," she said, a more softly. That was the thing with Gus, she was a whole lot of tough love.  

Waverly a tear, slowly falling from her face. She inhaled a shaky breath. 

"You got nothin' to worry about. You're an amazin' momma who loves her family and you have a pretty damn good wife. These kids are a part of somethin' pretty special." Gus walk over and gently kissed her cheek. 

"Forget the hose, I'm starvin'. Come try these veggies that I managed to barbecue for your vegan ass," Gus said, heading inside.

Waverly laughed, still trying to control her emotions. Gus was right, everyone was right. She had an amazing support system and Waverly swore to herself that she would be a better mother than her mother ever was. And she knew in her heart of hearts that she was doing a damn good job. She knew she was going to make a lot of mistakes, no one is perfect, especially not her. She can't expect things to go smoothly. She loved her kids, they were her kids and she wasn't going to let anyone take that from her, not even herself. So what was she waiting for? 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this adoption thing is kinda all over the place... in the future i should probably plan out the chapters and stuff better :/ IM SORRYSKSJDHSKDHKF


End file.
